An Unusual Officer From Three countries

[Richard]

Larry Thorne story by early 10th SFG Officer Jerry Hogan.

Richard

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An unusual officer from three countries
Jerry Hogan - Columnist
October 11, 2008 05:38 pm

Walking into the Headquarters of the Green Berets 10th Special Forces Group in Bad Tolz, Germany as a newly assigned Lieutenant in June of 1961, not knowing what to expect, was the start of the second best assignment I had in the US Army (the best was commanding a Battalion of over 700 men and women in the 8th Infantry Division in Europe during the Cold War).

This Special Forces Group is the oldest in the Army having been established in June, 1952, after the Army was convinced following World War II that, based upon experiences during that war of successful operations behind enemy lines with elements of the old Office of Strategic Services (OSS), it would be prudent to retain that capability of unconventional warfare. The Group was specifically formed to conduct partisan operations behind the Red Army lines in the event of a Soviet invasion of Europe.

With this type of mission, it soon became apparent that within the ranks of Special Forces Soldiers were some rather unusual people. Since the mission of the Group was unconventional warfare behind enemy lines, one of the main considerations for staffing the units that would be deployed was the ability of the men to blend into the local citizenry. Obviously a man who spoke fluent Hungarian would be a tremendous asset for a group going behind enemy lines in Hungary. (In addition it would probably give him a much better chance to stay alive.) The same would apply for Poland, Czechoslovakia, Russia, and other eastern European countries targeted for US operations. Likewise, people who were experts in the culture, habits, and appearance of the natives would increase the probability of successful operations behind the lines.

Added to these needed characteristics was the ability for a man to operate in the unusual environment of unconventional operations. More than likely, the insertion of the Soldiers behind the enemy lines would be done by parachute and then their only contact with other Americans would be by radio; their war would be fought, for however long it took, with the native forces behind the enemy lines. Former OSS operators, Ranger, and Airborne Soldiers from the American Army gravitated to this unit. Another special group of men also were there; the “Lodge Bill” troops. These were immigrants from politically persecuted countries who could become US citizens by serving in the US Army.
One of the most illustrious soldiers from this category was a fellow officer by the name of Larry Thorne.

Larry was a Finn who entered the Finnish Army in 1938 at the age of 19. War broke out between Finland and the Soviet Union in 1939 and for the next six years he fought the Russian Army, first as an officer in the Finnish Army; then as an officer in the German SS after Finland surrendered to the Soviets in 1944. While in the Finnish Army he became famous in the period of 1941-1944 when a unit was created under him to penetrate and fight deep behind enemy lines. His unit became so good and so famous the Russians put an unheard of $650,000 bounty on his head. Leading his unit, he received the highest Finnish medal, their Medal of Honor, for his activities behind enemy lines.

When the Finns and the Russians signed their peace treaty, Thorne was dissatisfied with the terms so he went to Germany where he joined the German SS to continue his fight against the Russians. In the last stages of the war he surrendered to the British and eventually returned to Finland after escaping a British POW camp. When he returned, he was then arrested by the Finns, even though he had received their Medal of Honor, and was sentenced to 6 years in prison for treason. He was then pardoned by the Finnish president in December of 1948.

Escaping from Finland after his pardon, he went to Sweden where he fell in love with a Swedish Finn. He hoped to establish a career before he was married so he disguised himself as a seaman and got on a ship headed for Venezuela. Arriving there, he then got on a ship headed for the United States; when it got near Mobile, Alabama, in the Gulf of Mexico, he jumped off the ship and swam to shore. He made it to New York where there was a strong Finnish community and was successful in getting a job as a carpenter. In 1953 he was granted a permit of residency through an Act of Congress that was sponsored by “Wild Bill” Donovan, the former head of the OSS group during WWII.

In 1954 he joined the US Army as a Private under the provisions of the Lodge Act. And as you would expect, he soon ended up in the US Special Forces organization. Going to Fort Bragg, North Carolina, he became an instructor at the Special Warfare School where he taught survival, skiing, mountaineering, and guerrilla tactics. He also learned parachuting and was soon an expert in this area.

Rising through the ranks quickly, he was commissioned as a Lieutenant in 1957 and then promoted to Captain in 1960. From 1958-1962 he was in the 10th Special Forces Group and this is where I got to know him.

In 1962, as a Captain, he led his Special Forces team onto the highest mountain in Iran to recover the bodies from an American C-130 airplane that had crashed and also to recover classified material on the plane. While others had failed before, Thorne and his men did what they had set out to do.

In 1963 he was assigned to Vietnam where he earned the Bronze Star medal for valor and five Purple Hearts for wounds. Here most of his combat was from isolated outposts on tops of hills where Special Forces camps were established. On his second tour of duty in Vietnam in 1965, the helicopter he was riding in crashed. He was declared missing and then dead in 1966 even though the body had not been recovered.

In 1999 a recovery team made it to the site of the helicopter crash and recovered the bodies of Major Thorne and the other passengers. In 2003 he was buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

He was the only American POW/MIA to fight communism under three flags: Finland, Germany, and America. Today in Finland he is remembered as a hero and at Fort Carson, Colorado, here in the States, the main headquarters building of the current location of the 10th Special Forces is named Thorne Hall. And so the story goes, in the movie “Green Berets”, the part played by John Wayne, Captain Sven Kornie, was based in large part on Larry Thorne!

Larry was just one example of Lodge Bill Soldiers who served in Special Forces following WWII. Others included a Sergeant from Poland, another from Czechoslovak who was a veteran of the Maquis and the French Foreign Legion, “Frenchy” Szarck who was a Pole and a veteran of four Armies, another who served in the Romanian and German armies, and the list goes on. Clearly the expertise these men brought to our Army helped establish the Special Forces we know today.

And my own personal observation, “They were great Soldiers who loved to soldier!”
Jerry Hogan is a retired US Army Lieutenant Colonel who lives in Heath, TX. To have the story of your friend or relative told in this column, please contact Jerry at jerryhogan@sbcglobal.net or 214-394-4033.

[SF_BHT]

Thanks Richard. That was a very good read.

[alright4u]

I did not know him, but; he was a legend. We had a number of Lodge Act officers in SF especially from Finland and other countries.

I had the pleasure of meeting COl. Pavo Kiernen sp. before going to RVN and C&C. Also served with one of Col Keravouri's sons years later. He was a WP major by 1973. I recall he had a heart attack or a heart problem when he was S-3 of the 1/9th INF. We were loaded with Czechs and Pols. SOG HQ even had a Russian born CPT, who retired a full Col.

The Fins were known as the best skiiers.

[Tuukka]

These men have finally gotten a wider recognition for their actions, during the Cold War it was not something that was spoken about publicly that much.

Lauri Törni, among the other fighting men and women of his generation, are the reason why we are still independent.

Törni's name is featured on the plaque in the front hall of the Finnish Reserve Officer School´s main building.

Due to the circumstances after the war, many had to leave Finland and and go onto great things.

I took the below photo on my visit to Ft. Bragg earlier this year;

[Richard]

Originally Posted by Tuukka

Due to the circumstances after the war, many had to leave Finland and and go onto great things.

And not just Finland. I knew a number of guys who came from all over Europe to fight with SF against the communists--guys with names like Nagy, Skowron, Reinitzer, Schiller, Sobichevski, Dutlinger, Maracek, Olchevik, etc. Guys who never fully lost their native language accents or mannerisms. Guys who were actively involved in European ops--and others--throughout the Cold War. Guys whose names I'll never forget.

Is this a great country or what?

Richard's $.02

[ZonieDiver]

Originally Posted by Richard

And not just Finland. I knew a number of guys who came from all over Europe to fight with SF against the communists--guys with names like Nagy, Skowron, Reinitzer, Schiller, Sobichevski, Dutlinger, Maracek, Olchevik, etc. Guys who never fully lost their native language accents or mannerisms. Guys who were actively involved in European ops--and others--throughout the Cold War. Guys whose names I'll never forget.

Is this a great country or what?

Richard's $.02

It is a very great country, indeed.

In 8th Group there was an SFC who had served with Rommel's Afrika Korps as a 17 year old in WWII. He was always first in the chow line. If any of us young guys complained about the food, he'd launch into a rant about "brown bread full of weevils" being their only food - in very thick-accented, broken English, barely raising his head from his food. He was very dedicated to fighting for his new, adopted country - where he'd been given a second chance... and great food!

[LongTabSigO]

I wonder: Would a revival of a Lodge-type Act be worth it in today's military? Or has that ship essentially sailed?

Thx in advance for your thoughts.

[Stras]

I took the wall photo on Memorial Day Weekend. He was one of several that we checked on in regards to their MIA status. He was one of the many Vietnam Veterans that I welcomed home that weekend.

Larry came home in 1999, subsequently identified through DNA, and was buried in 2003 with the Vietnamese helicopter crew in a joint burial at Arlington.

[mojaveman]

Originally Posted by Richard

And not just Finland. I knew a number of guys who came from all over Europe to fight with SF against the communists--guys with names like Nagy, Skowron, Reinitzer, Schiller, Sobichevski, Dutlinger, Maracek, Olchevik, etc. Guys who never fully lost their native language accents or mannerisms. Guys who were actively involved in European ops--and others--throughout the Cold War. Guys whose names I'll never forget.

Is this a great country or what?

Richard's $.02

Interesting post Richard.

When I was in Group we had members there from the following countries: Grenada, Australia, Germany, Saudi Arabia, and South Africa. We even had a Native American too. Maybe 5th was appropriately nicknamed 'The Legion'.

[219seminole]

Circa 1970 when I was at Ubon doing debriefs of USAF F4 crews going in Laos and NVN there was a Russian-born pilot who was a lot of fun to debrief. He thoroughly enjoyed blowing up things and was also an authority on many the types of R&R available...such as religious retreats in Hong Kong. He was an older captain so may have come in under the Lodge Act as well.