Name: Larry Alan Thorne No one was hurt, however, apart from a few bruises and contusions. The plane was carrying classified equipment and three earlier attempts to reach it had failed. The remains of the Finnish war hero Lauri Trni (also known as Larry Thorne) was buried with full military honors in the Arlington cemetary yesterday. Arlington's most famous grave, accompanied by an eternal flame, is that of President John F. Kennedy. Tornis marauders caused such consternationamong Soviet combat formations that they put a bounty of three million Finnish marks on his head. There are probably 40 or more entries on it right now and I usually add a couple each week. Lauri Trni enlisted at age 19 in Finlands Army and fought against the Soviet Union. A Soldier of 3 armies knows the game Makes going to the doctor so much easier. Born Lauri Allan Torne in Finland, in 1919, Thorne would distinguish himself, leading an elite detachment of Finnish ski troops (think James Bond) on raids behind Soviet lines, commanding a Waffen-SS sabotage squad, and unleashing such crippling guerrilla attacks against the Soviets that they put an unheard-of 3 million Finnish mark bounty on his head. Barry Sadler was a Vietnam-era US Special Forces veteran best known for his hit song, The Ballad of the Green Berets. This book series was titled, Casca, The Eternal Mercenary.. I remember your parents. The 5th Special Forces Group channeled personnel into MACV-SOG (although it was not a Special Forces unit) through Special Operations Augmentation (SOA), which provided their cover while under secret orders to MACV-SOG. Under his strict and demanding leadership, the ski troops fought the Russians deep behind enemy lines for extended periods of time. What a fascinating man he must have been in real life. Finland had been caught between two desperate evils and was anxious to cleanse itself of the Nazi taint. As an adult in Finland, he joined the Finnish army where he attained the rank of Captain. One of the earliest helicopters employed in Southeast Asia, and the primary Marine Corps helicopter used during the early years of the war, was the Sikorsky UH34D Seahorse. These teams earned a global reputation as one of the most combat effective deep-penetration forces ever raised. Lt. May 9, 2011. Turn-ons include vintage German machineguns, flying his sexy-cool RV6A airplane, Count Chocula cereal, and the movie Aliens., Previous post: Alaska Arms: Ruger M77 Rings and Extra Round Floorplate, Your email address will not be published. Major Larry Thorne was buried at Arlington National Cemetery on June 26, 2003. He was assigned to the Military Assistance Command, VietnamStudies and Observations Group (MACV-SOG). Larry Thorne, age 86 of Minor Hill passed away Saturday, December 30, 2017. He is married to his high school sweetheart, has three awesome adult children, and teaches Sunday School. On October 18, 1965, he was on a covert mission into Laos, riding in a South Vietnamese Air Force H-34 helicopter. So they assigned Hollingsworth to the Central Identification Lab, Hickam Air Force Base, Hawaii. He had simply disappeared. Lauri Allan Trni! Deeds that echo from the past by J. Michael Cleverley. As he came of age, Lauri joined the national reserve of the Finnish Army. Larry Alan Thorne is listed as Missing in Action. The all aircraft circled the area looking for a way to get down to the clearing through the thick angry clouds that blanketed the area. Lauri Allan Trni (28 May 1919 - 18 October 1965), later known as Larry Alan Thorne, was a Finnish-born soldier who fought under three flags: as a Finnish Army officer in the Winter War and the Continuation War ultimately gaining a rank of captain; as a Waffen-SS captain (under the alias Larry Lane) of the Finnish Volunteer Battalion of the Waffen-SS when he fought the Red Army on the . He was so successful as a ski troop commander that the unit patch carried his initial T with a lightning bolt through it. When Sweden forbade further exports to the US in protest to the war in Vietnam the government tasked Smith and Wesson with contriving a replacement. After World War II, Lauri Torni made his way to the United States where he enlisted in the U.S. Army under the Lodge Bill. While fighting the Soviets during the Continuation War Torni developed a reputation for audacity and inspirational leadership. They have also lived in Dadeville, AL and Opelika, AL. From 1958 through 1962 Thorne served with the 10thSpecial Forces Group in Bad Tolz, West Germany. He joined the Germans, attended their school for guerrilla warfare, and then fought with their marines until the war ended. LODGE BILL TROOPS and CPT LARRY THORNE Based on the unit mission and the identities of the soldiers, an aura of secrecy surrounded the 10th Special Forces group in the early days. Born a Soldier is a tour of the mid-20th century's conflicts with the remarkable Larry Thorne. Advise. Your email address will not be published. How Larry Thorne became a Special Forces legend. Doctor Dabbs, I also love your articles wherever I find them. Trni still enjoys an awesome reputation amongst military men even today, nearly 40 years after his demise. As many of you are aware Larry was lost in the clouds on 18 October 1965 on a CH-34 KINGBEE helicopter from the 219th Vietnamese Air Force Squadron while performing a C&C mission out of Kham Duc for the very first OP-35 cross-border reconnaissance mission (RT Iowa) being conducted by Charles Slats Petry, Willie Card and four little people and never seen again. SYNOPSIS: Larry Alan Thorne was born Lauri Allan Torni on May 28, 1919. Shout, Lauri Trnis name In 1950 Torni signed on as crew aboard the Swedish cargo ship MS Skagen bound for the Gulf of Mexico. Buzz, I will also secure a name and address in Finland for anyone desiring to dispatch a card to Juha and/or Salme, the last surviving sister of Larry. NWF Daily News reports: As the Kingbees and Huey gunships flew low over the countryside, all they could see were rolling hills, wild rivers and waterfalls. It was a mission in which others had failed, but Thornes unrelenting spirit led to its accomplishment. Based on that limited evidence coupled with a series of forensic and DNA tests, it has taken the USG till now to arrive at a conclusive decision that this was in fact Larry's ill-fated aircraft. Leading a special hand-picked unit, Thorne operated deep behind enemy lines for extended periods. "Men like Larry are called to serve others," said Hollingsworth, "but not all volunteer for the types of training and assignments Larry did. The Suomi KP weighed 10.14 pounds and cycled at between 750 and 900 rounds per minute. They gather to toast his health every year. That is where Lauri Trni saw his opportunity for a new beginning. Three South Vietnamese soldiers had accompanied Trni on the ill-fated helicopter flight, returning from a secret mission, probably in Laos. The Tradition Guild will send representatives to the funeral, and the Finnish Defence Forces will decide on their participation next week. Abernathy Roger Keith. Larry Thorne was a warriors warrior, so he naturally gravitated toward the US Special Forces. Lawrence Thorn, 77 Resides in Dallas, TX Also known as Larry B Thorn Includes Address (1) See Results Lawrence T Thorn, 64 Resides in Cincinnati, OH Lived In Cambridge OH, Belmont MA, Boston MA, Denver CO Related To Nancy Thorn, James Thorn, Heidi Thorn, Jacob Thorn, Eva Thorn Also known as L T Thorn, Lawrence T Includes Address (9) Phone (5) Hi DR. Dabbs, as usual a great article! To say the life and exploits of Larry Thorne are unbelievable is to put it mildly. Legacy Thorne's U.S. memorial is the Larry Thorne Headquarters Building, 10th SFG (A), Fort Carson, Colorado. Born in 1919 in Viipuri Province in Finland, Lauri Torni fought the Soviets beginning with the battles around Lake Ladoga in December of 1939. . Larry Thorne and several of his Finnish ex-commanders where the very nucleus of the new Special Forces, Larry himself being the model for John Waynes character in the move "the Green Berets". Larry A. Thorne is the only American POW/MIA to fight communism under three flags - those of Finland, Germany and America. Great story! The MP40 was the first mass-produced infantry combat weapon to eschew wooden furniture and be designed specifically for mass production. Shout, Lauri Trnis name Been a hectic week, so Im a few days late reading this one. If I could have carte blanc to craft any work of fiction it would be to retire behind my MacBook and resurrect the tale of Casca in a modern context. Doctor Dabbs, where do you get your seemingly inexhaustible supply of interesting topics to write about? Yep. However, if he survived, he most certainly could have been captured by NVA forces openly operating throughout the region and his fate, like that of other Americans who remain unaccounted for in Southeast Asia, could be quite different. The helicopter crashed on a mountain-top in a severe thuderstorm. However, a close family friend, Ilkka Nieminen has secured permission from Juha for an early release of this information in order to permit Larry's American friends sufficient time to coordinate travel and accommodation arrangements in the event they desire to attend the Memorial Service (25 June) and Interment (26 June 2003) at Arlington National Cemetery. In 1962, then-Captain Larry Thorne led a critical mission to recover classified materials from a US Air Force plane that crashed on a mountaintop on the Iran-Turkish-Soviet border, according to Helsingin Sanomat. Punctuality 5. Thorne joined the U.S. Army and his expertise in guerrilla warfare led him into the Special Forces Group, where he was commissioned a first lieutenant, eventually rising to the rank of captain and commanding a Special Forces team in Vietnam, before joining SOG. With the new name of Larry Thorne, he became an officer in the Green Berets, of the Army's elite Special Forces, serving in operations in Iran and Vietnam, according to an article last year in Military Review, an Army publication. "I had no idea the organization even existed but it appealed to me because of the travel and negotiations with communist officials as the sole U.S. military presence in the country outside the embassy," Hollingsworth said. [1] He was re-elected on November 4, 2014, for a term that begins on January 1, 2015, and expired on December 31, 2018. At 1745 hours, both FACs departed Kham Duc. 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