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@biographics It seems that you're out of really interesting people to do shows on. This was a great idea, to portray sometimes unknown heroes. As I'm from Africa I can only suggest legends in our sphere, men like the Portuguese Danny Roxo; who single handed did a recon of a hill, while running through the killzone of an enemy ambush. Chris Schollenberg, serving as 2 man recon team for the legendary Selous Scouts. Jan Breytenbach, who formed nearly all of South Africa's special forces regiments and was always somehow involved in nearly all major operations - hands on! I'm sure there are many, but try these 3 for now, information isn't always available because of being classified, but if this episode does well - give them a go . . .
@@larrywave Well his statement is not really wrong. The main goal was to take the lost land back still if the war would have ended in Soviet losing to Germany Finland most likely would have gained much more than the land it lost at least the areas they occupied to get to good defending positions during the war.
@@larrywave Well makes sense that some elements were affected by Nazi ideology, especially those with ties to IKL. Some were seeking to liberate Fenno-Ugric tribes of Ural, some wanting to build Suur-Suomi and some wishing vengeage for Soviet aggression. Still this was not the official stance and in the end Finland would have settled for its de jure borders no matter the outcome of the war.
God that would have made a wonderful Red Dawn remake or sequel. Communists land on American soil, klaxon blares throughout the United states, *The Thorne has awakened, Please vacate the country.."* Doomguy style intro lol
@@tb8987 Jesus man we want to defeat our enemies not traumatize them into a state of permanent fear and existential dread. That's entirely too much badass motherfucker for the world to handle. That's like asking for a second Chuck Norris. It's just too much kickassery.
From the Finnish lakes Into Germany and USA All the wars he came across Cross of Mannerheim An iron cross, a bronze star, purple heart One distinguished flying cross Shout, Lauri Törni's name A soldier of three armies knows the game Keeps their echo from the past Rise from beyond your grave Son of Finland and the Green Beret May you rest in peace at last Lauri Allan Törni
4:57 There is a mistake. Finland did not give up almost any population to the Soviets. Almost 100% of the population of the ceded areas decided to relocate to the finnish side of the new border as they did not want to be under the Soviet rule. Karelia was depopulated because of the war and Soviets force moved people to live there to repopulate the area from other areas of Soviet Union. Thats why there is almost none ethnically finnish people living there in modern times.
True i'm quite sure that actually no one stayed in Karelia. They were offered Soviet citizenship's but no one returned including my great grandmother who fled from her home in Vyborg.
@@puhpe445 no one did, my great-grandmother had to flee when russians took the lands and great-grandfather was helping also. they were teenagers back then if i remember correct what she told me when i was a child. great stories but i was not old enough to understand and i wish i could ask that again.
@@MrPoupard Used to. Old finnish people seemed to really hold Karelia in high regard. Forests and lakes have always meant much to finnish and Karelia is full of those. As well as mystery and tradition, forming signifigant part of the revered Kalevala. And then communism took it, raped and pillaged it until there was nothing of beauty or value left. Anything there now is either rusting or crumbling away, unrepairable, eaten by mold and decay. Population declining, all things built by humans slowly fading away from vision and memory, until nature finally is left to clean the corruption away. Perhaps at that point, many years from now, there will be some reason in the russian population to accept what folly they made and give the land back they took with so huge human cost.
I am a retired US Army, you did and amazing job with this video Larry Thorne is a legend, and some of his exploits were taught to us in leadership schools. Thank you for doing this story...
Absolutely not. He is a nazi who enjoyed killing russains just because he had a reason to, his grave needs to be dug up and his remains dumped into wherever they buried the nazis killed in the trials
@Starvin Marvin If you speak of Finland, we remember that Lenin indeed accepted Finland's declaration of independence from Russia in December 1917. However, Lenin did not remove Russian troops from Finland, which means that those troops became an occupying force. Lenin's troops had to be driven out from Finland which the Finnish White Guards duly did in the spring 1918. We also remember that Lenin supported the Finnish Red Guards during the Finnish Civil War in the spring 1918. What comes to Sweden, it had lost Finland to Russia already in 1809. As so, we do not know if Finland would have won its independence from Sweden when the time came. Since Sweden was much weaker than Russia, I logically believe we would have succeeded.
I got a fun little story of Lauri, it takes place in his US Army years. So he was in a German bar drinking with his army buddies when he heard drunken Finns having a loud conversation (in Finnish) about US imperialism and were slandering the American soldiers at the bar. Lauri listened for a while their drunk socialist rambling until his stood up and walked to the tourists. He said in Finnish; "I am happy to translate all that you've said to my buddies over there. I'm sure they would appreciate your intelligent opinions!" Needless to say that it made the tourists to finish their drinks quite fast and leave the bar.
OMG I thought the name sounded familiar. That was my dad's commander at FT Benning. Wow I didn't know anything about him other than he was the company commander. My father rest his soul went over to Vietnam with Cpt. Thorne. Hope they have been reunited by the big man upstairs.
@@thrashandburn10221 History channel has done pieces on some of his other commanders no one else that close though. William Westmoreland, and Alexander Haig just to name a couple but those guys where generals. Both of my grandfathers served in WW II and they served with, or under some real historical heavy weights.
@@angelmaldonado7967 very cool. It really evokes that idea of all your friends riveted to your dads storytelling and you're just rolling your eyes in the corner. "Not again!"
@Klaidi Rubiku Yeah, so. . . ummmmmm. He literally joined the SS so that he could kill more of the people who took is home from him. I doubt he would care much about the specific ideology of the third abrahamic religion. It's not that much worse than the second. If you actually bother to think about it anyways.
5:00 Finland dosen't cede 12% of its population to the Soviet Union. Finland evacuated is population from territorys that were cede to the Soviet Union. Nobody is so crazy that will stay voluntarily in Soviet Union.
Lauri Törni was one of the most interesting fellows to learn and read about as a fellow Finn... We truly had a lot of brave men fighting during the winter war and they were more than just numbers during the war, the person behind the legends was truly inspiring
I watched 'Tuntematon sotilas' last week and thought it was an excellent film, and amongst the best war films I've seen. My ears pricked up when a lot of the middle part of the video and the 'Continuation War' ties in with what was in the film. I had to check again to see that Törni was not in the film.
The irony of Liberty prime is lost on so many people it's insane. Although this man does embody the idea of fighting for genocidal fascists as an aggressor.
@@georgejpg "The irony of Liberty prime is lost on so many people" lol imagine using fictional characters in a platinum selling video game for your crappy marxist metaphors. Ouch.
"Managed to at least in part communicate with a blend of hand gestures and shouted profanities" ... Sounds about right. That's actually a pretty good summary of most conversations between Finns too.
@@snc9297 Luulin kyllä että tarkoitat Manua. Mutta kysy siltä itteltänsä. En hirveesti piittaa tuollaasista nimimerkin takaa huikituista negatiivisista kommenteista. Olisit heti kysynyt sitä nimeä - Kohteliaasti.
@@snc9297 Niinkuin jo edellä totesin oletin sinun tarkoittaneen Koivistoa. Ja olisin toivonut sinun kysyneen sen isoisän nimeä hänen pojanpojaltaan - Kohteliaasti - Ennenkuin aloit kommentoida negatiivisesti. En minä sinua missään vaiheessa tyhmänä pitänyt vaan mahdollisesti ulkomaalaisena joka ei tunne Suomen historiaa. Se siitä minun osaltani.
I found myself repeatedly hoping he lived long enough to see the wall fall, but alas it was not to be. On the bright side, at least he didn't die by stepping on yet ANOTHER damnable bloody landmine!
Across the water a new start war still beating in his heart and the legend has been born. Started out a reserve soon promoted well deserved changed his name to Larry Thorne
@@japekki666 If you mean that Vietnam movie what Spike Lee is directing and where Jasper Pääkkönen has a side role, it has nothing to do with Lauri Törni like some people thought.
@@dannyarcher438 even more reason to learn from the faults in his character. Almost all historical figures have some sort of egregious flaw, that we can all learn from to be better and overcome.
@@dannyarcher438 Finland didn't take almost any part of the siege of Leningrad wich infuriated Hitler greatly. Leningrad wasn't on the interest of any kind for Finland. Soviets then took advantage over that to supply Leningrad during winter when Ladoga froze. During Continuation Finland pushed way over it's old border into Soviet territory and so they got close to Leningrad and stopped way before it because If they would have attacked there The losses would have been massive for Finland. Obviously Finnish troops committed warcrimes just like all the other sides did. The government didn't approve these actions tho. It's also a fact that Finland had some concentration camps on captured territory for The safety of their own troops. Camps were made to prevent partisan actions. It's propably true that Finland also attempted sometimes to stop the aid that Soviets tried get into Leningrad. Yet still Finland didn't want Leningrad. Also The modern Russian government also tries to put The blame on other countries when they are having a bad time to get people look elsewhere when they fucked up. They also like to make up those warcrimes if they can't find anything terrible enough. They have been keen on finnish warcrimes in recent days. ( Sorry for bad english and also for terrible autocorrect ). Have a great day!
Sabaton. Shout, Lauri Törni's name A soldier of three armies knows the game Keeps their echo from the past Rise from beyond your grave Son of Finland and the Green Beret May you rest in peace at last Lauri Allan Törni
Pretty crazy considering that he became a communist and was instrumental in ruining the Finnish economy to get us ready for the European Union. Finnish taxpayers were robbed clean, 10,000 entrepreneurs committed suicide and the banks won as always.
@@ImForwardlook And that he only was a part of an one expedition of the detachment Törni so he basically was NOT one of the Törnis men, the rest was just a made up legend to get the banker to ruin the nation...
When he said a year later i was fully prepared to hear "Larry Thorne skied out of the jungle, drunk on homemade vodka with a portable sauna strapped to his back. Then he accidentally stepped on a russian landmine again, After a few weeks he again fleed from the hospital never to be seen again. In moonlit nights in the Vietnam when the wind is just right it is said you can see a silouet on the hilltops of an angry Fin shaking his fist in the direction of Russia screaming "Perkele" at the top of his lungs"
Yes, Finnish is a weird language. And yes, Simon pretty much butchered each and every Finnish name in the video. Even written names were off. But it's understandable.
@@darkstarnh I have Welsh family and miscellaneous household phrases were still in Welsh at my dad's house. I'm pretty sure Griffin is ultimately a Welsh surname, actually.
Hi Väinö Leppänen! I need to comment on your comment. And the cause is in your name. My grandfather's (mother's side) brother's name was Väinö Leppänen. He died in the Winter War. He was a wrestler, and 187cm high and weighing approximately 90 kg. My grandfather told that Väinö would have been able to participate in the 1940 Olympics as a so-called black horse with the Finnish wrestling team. The man he would have replaced would not have gotten there. And, as we know, that year’s Olympics, like the next ones, were not held because of the war. My father was also a war veteran (he used light machine gun) who fought against the Russians in the Continuation War, including the delay battles of the Karelian Isthmus. He was then 19 years old. He died in a car accident in 1972 the age of 48. I was 9 years old at the time.
Larry is one of my favorite personalities I learned about during my time in the US Army. He has a building named after him and his own spot in the Fort Carson post museum.
In Finnish history classes from elementary to high school, he’s mostly referred as a hero. Not in the books but unofficially by teachers. He’s like Risto Räty, ‘casualty of the war’, in a sense that we are not supposed to remember/celebrate him until enough time from the happening has gone by. So not to ‘offend’ parties such as Russia, Germany or even the US. Many actually quite controversial characters here in Finland that did what they had to at the time to ensure the independence of a relatively young, small country amongst the giants playing their games around us.
Hard to say for sure. After WW2 a lot of former German soldiers ended up in the American (and others) army. Records were lost, intentionally or inadvertently destroyed, or towards the end of the war just never kept. Remember everyone that SS units weren't only units that were involved with genocide but also army units that had nothing ever to do with civilian slaughter.
Started out as a reserve Soon promoted when deserved And the legend has begun With a bounty on his head The red army wants him dead Soviet enemy number one
I like to imagine that in a world where he survived Vietnam. He went on to fight the Soviets just one more during their invasion of Afghanistan, and after the Soviets had collapsed he said that it was the most beautiful thing that he had ever seen in his life.
An amazing man! I was invited by the President of the Finnish War Veterans in America organization to attend his funeral at Arlington National Cemetery (because my father was a member of this organization) but I declined the invitation for some stupid reason. I'll regret that decision for the rest of my life.
Even though Larry/Lauri left Finland 1949 and eventually kept on fighting Soviet Union led communism in the US army (where he also became a highly valued soldier) until the end of his life the Finnish people never forgot what he had done for this country. In 2004 the Finnish national television (YLE) arranged a national vote on 100 greatest Finnish people ever. YLE created a initial list of 100 candidates but in the first round people were allowed to vote anyone, also people outside this list. The Finnish people voted Lauri Törni, who was not in the list created by Yle, to the second round and he eventually was voted the 52st greatest Finnish people ever among all the great writers, presidents, composers, etc.
Sadly the market value of a Finnish soldier (Even if he is American by the end of it) is so incredibly small. If the US doesn't get to be a hero, there's unlikely to be any film or series made.
Yep, there would be material for at least 10 seasons, but I hope Hollywood keeps their slimy paws off his story. Luckily he's not diverse enough a character to gather interest from them anyways. Unfortunately we live in an era where telling the story of a hero like Lauri Törni is no longer possible. Just imagine what a modern Larry Thorne TV show would look like. It would be a character assassination of him as a genocidal maniac fighting against the just and honorable communists. Much like the two communists tried to do in the Finnish language book mentioned at the end.
@Andre Guitard classic right wing dolts: can't take a joke. But, to be fair neither can your family since they don't invite you over for thanksgiving anymore.
My father inlaw from Karelia in Finland fought in the continuation war against the Soviets in 1942. By the end of it he was only 1 of 3 blokes left out of the whole battalion. Following the war he immigrated to Oz as the Finns had to give his part of the country to Stalin as part of the peace deal.
You should check the Sabaton History Channel, they have made a very good video about Simo Häyhä based on their song "White Death" which speaks about him. It's Heavy Metal telling history and it's really great!
As a finnish person and a history student i have couple corrections to this video: 1. Soviets officially wanted the istmus and the islands but molotov ribbentrop pact indicates the true goal was occupation of the entire country. 2. While it is true that soviets got some 10% of the land they did not get the people. 400 000 finnish citizens were evacuated from karelia and lost their homes of thousands of years. 3. Pronounciation of double vowels like in Viipuri is off. 4. Pronounciation of ö is bad you just said o. Also j in kaija is more like y in you than j in english Otherwise great video and nice to see some finnish people in biographics!
You should check the Sabaton History Channel, they have made a very good video about him based on their song "Soldier of Three Armies" which speaks about him. It's Heavy Metal telling history and it's really great!
Not in todays current society Hollywood's agenda is to make movies that fit their narrative. Everyone they oppose is called a Nazi and to humanize the regular normal people who fought on that side they wouldn't touch. Because it would humanize people they dislike in todays society. Roosevelt statue is being torn down, Jefferson statues, Washington's. Say goodbye to cop movies unless its Tarantino style inglorious basterds killing cops.
You should check the Sabaton History Channel, they have made a very good video about him based on their song "Soldier of Three Armies" which speaks about him. It's Heavy Metal telling history and it's really great!
The movie: "Green Barets" has been shown in Finlands TV only once. 1982. Sovjet Union was still alive, and they send a communicea to the TV controllers. Whining about Lauri Törnis part in it. Finlands offical response was "F.......U......". Even Breshnev understand that they had lost their grip of us.
Please Biographics, do a video of *Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim* this would be a very appropriate time after this Thorne video, and June is his birth month. This Finnish leader was a WWII military rarity born of nobility a man who even Hitler respected and admired more than I think any leader in the war.
@Østén Mádéru Hitler liked real military leaders and that was what Mannerheim was. His résumé shows that. Not to mention that Mannerheim had a very interesting career in Tzars army too and I think he is on their radar as he was mentioned several times during the video. Still expecting a video about him soon would be foolish it takes most likely several months of time of them researching the person before making the video. Still I would think we will see one of him some point.
But Mannerheim didn't like Hitler. Btw if you search the net you can find a conversation that Mannerheim and Hitler had and a letter from Churchill to Mannerheim.
He's story is told when you join Green Berets. He has named Hangar there...painting before high ranked commander office and green berets every year compete Larry Thorne trophy.
Fun fact: Mauno Koivisto, who would later serve as The President of Finland from 1982 to 1994, was a member of the Törni detachment during the Continuation War.
No wonder Lauri wan't payback. My family is from Karelia and my grandfather fight Continuation War and Lapland war. There's still some pain in my family after 76 years.
That helicopter accident is just end of the source material and following season was so bad they did the right thing and never published it unlike GoT.
Well done! As per usual! On a personal note, I find your amiable and genuine manner to be much preferable to many others in a similar genre. You are much more expressive than most, and do not display that air of self importance and snide superiority so often displayed by others. Further, I find your presentations to be exhaustive yet without needless information. Thanks!
deeaplw He is a snide little twat though when he tries to tell Americans about their rights to firearms which is against. We have enough of our on homegrown socialist to deal with on that subject we don't need anyone else from a different country preaching to us about it
A former finnish president Mauno Koivisto (1982 - 1994) served in the Infantry Detachment Törni led by Lauri Törni, which was a reconnaissance detachment operating behind enemy lines.
One of the better depictions of Töyrni/ Thorne and the wars he took part in, even if you have a really hard time pronouncing the Finnish names :D , but thanks for trying and making this awesome video. It was very informative and entertaining. Well balanced. Keep up the good work!
I get that you are doing broad strokes. But Mannerheim did not come into terms with a harsh reality, quite the opposite. He knew the distinct possibility of defeat from the get go, and thus did his best not to antagonize the soviets to such a degree that would lead to total conquest. As displayed with his decision's to not cut the Murmansk track, and to not close off the Leningrad encirclement.
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Saying that finland didnt want to conquer extra land from soviet union is so false 😅
Oh nice choice - Lauri Törni /Larry Thorne.
@biographics
It seems that you're out of really interesting people to do shows on. This was a great idea, to portray sometimes unknown heroes. As I'm from Africa I can only suggest legends in our sphere, men like the Portuguese Danny Roxo; who single handed did a recon of a hill, while running through the killzone of an enemy ambush.
Chris Schollenberg, serving as 2 man recon team for the legendary Selous Scouts.
Jan Breytenbach, who formed nearly all of South Africa's special forces regiments and was always somehow involved in nearly all major operations - hands on!
I'm sure there are many, but try these 3 for now, information isn't always available because of being classified, but if this episode does well - give them a go . . .
@@larrywave Well his statement is not really wrong. The main goal was to take the lost land back still if the war would have ended in Soviet losing to Germany Finland most likely would have gained much more than the land it lost at least the areas they occupied to get to good defending positions during the war.
@@larrywave Well makes sense that some elements were affected by Nazi ideology, especially those with ties to IKL. Some were seeking to liberate Fenno-Ugric tribes of Ural, some wanting to build Suur-Suomi and some wishing vengeage for Soviet aggression.
Still this was not the official stance and in the end Finland would have settled for its de jure borders no matter the outcome of the war.
It is said he did not die in the helicopter crash,but is kept in Area 51 in a container with "break glass in case of russian attack".
God that would have made a wonderful Red Dawn remake or sequel.
Communists land on American soil, klaxon blares throughout the United states, *The Thorne has awakened, Please vacate the country.."* Doomguy style intro lol
Can we add Simo Haya to that elite operation too?
Most underrated comment I have ever seen
Lauri's weapons of choice weren't a rifle and a grenade, but a bottle of vodka and a ski.
@@tb8987 Jesus man we want to defeat our enemies not traumatize them into a state of permanent fear and existential dread. That's entirely too much badass motherfucker for the world to handle. That's like asking for a second Chuck Norris. It's just too much kickassery.
From the Finnish lakes
Into Germany and USA
All the wars he came across
Cross of Mannerheim
An iron cross, a bronze star, purple heart
One distinguished flying cross
Shout, Lauri Törni's name
A soldier of three armies knows the game
Keeps their echo from the past
Rise from beyond your grave
Son of Finland and the Green Beret
May you rest in peace at last
Lauri Allan Törni
Sabaton! Sabaton! Sabaton!
All hail the Soldier of Three Armies!
Noch ein bier. 😝🤘
Sa-ba-ton! Sa-ba-ton! Sa-ba-ton!
Sabaton! Sabaton! Sabaton!
The incarnation of the phrase "better dead than red."
Better than yellow as well. No way this dude be a yellow belly bastard.
Karma caught up with him and he rotted away in a red jungle.
The Shadow Man I think we just found one of the few remaining Bolsheviks on here. Murderers just like the nazis
Drakon590 Too bad he wasn’t 10x the pilot...
@@theshadowman1398 aww did he kill some your cockroach relatives? 😘
4:57 There is a mistake. Finland did not give up almost any population to the Soviets. Almost 100% of the population of the ceded areas decided to relocate to the finnish side of the new border as they did not want to be under the Soviet rule. Karelia was depopulated because of the war and Soviets force moved people to live there to repopulate the area from other areas of Soviet Union. Thats why there is almost none ethnically finnish people living there in modern times.
True i'm quite sure that actually no one stayed in Karelia. They were offered Soviet citizenship's but no one returned including my great grandmother who fled from her home in Vyborg.
@@puhpe445 no one did, my great-grandmother had to flee when russians took the lands and great-grandfather was helping also. they were teenagers back then if i remember correct what she told me when i was a child. great stories but i was not old enough to understand and i wish i could ask that again.
I heard it used to be beautiful until the Soviets took it over? Sibelius - Karelia Suite ...
@@MrPoupard Used to. Old finnish people seemed to really hold Karelia in high regard. Forests and lakes have always meant much to finnish and Karelia is full of those. As well as mystery and tradition, forming signifigant part of the revered Kalevala.
And then communism took it, raped and pillaged it until there was nothing of beauty or value left.
Anything there now is either rusting or crumbling away, unrepairable, eaten by mold and decay.
Population declining, all things built by humans slowly fading away from vision and memory, until nature finally is left to clean the corruption away.
Perhaps at that point, many years from now, there will be some reason in the russian population to accept what folly they made and give the land back they took with so huge human cost.
Don't take it personal, Americans do this with African and African-American history all the time. However with us it's usually done on purpose.
-"How much do you hate communists?"
-"Yes."
These comments are so dumb. Why do you think they are funny
@@stc3145 Because they make you sensitive and I LOVE IT 😻
@@stc3145 well aren’t you a Debby downer
@@r2-ree299 yeah no. He's saying what we're all thinking.
@@shawnkay5462 it's not making anyone sensitive. It's making everyone facepalm.
I am a retired US Army, you did and amazing job with this video Larry Thorne is a legend, and some of his exploits were taught to us in leadership schools. Thank you for doing this story...
Absolutely not. He is a nazi who enjoyed killing russains just because he had a reason to, his grave needs to be dug up and his remains dumped into wherever they buried the nazis killed in the trials
This was a man who truly hated communists.
Understandable.
Nothing teaches hatred of communism just like communists themselves.
@Starvin Marvin If you speak of Finland, we remember that Lenin indeed accepted Finland's declaration of independence from Russia in December 1917. However, Lenin did not remove Russian troops from Finland, which means that those troops became an occupying force. Lenin's troops had to be driven out from Finland which the Finnish White Guards duly did in the spring 1918. We also remember that Lenin supported the Finnish Red Guards during the Finnish Civil War in the spring 1918.
What comes to Sweden, it had lost Finland to Russia already in 1809. As so, we do not know if Finland would have won its independence from Sweden when the time came. Since Sweden was much weaker than Russia, I logically believe we would have succeeded.
The only good communist is a dead communist
And USSR still f. him up. Haha
"started out as a reserve, soon promoted when deserved"
AND THE LEGEND HAS BEEN BORN
WITH A BOUNTY ON HIS HEAD
THE RED ARMY WANTS HIM DEAD
SOVIET ENEMY NUMBER ONE!
CROSS OF MANNERHEIM
I got a fun little story of Lauri, it takes place in his US Army years. So he was in a German bar drinking with his army buddies when he heard drunken Finns having a loud conversation (in Finnish) about US imperialism and were slandering the American soldiers at the bar. Lauri listened for a while their drunk socialist rambling until his stood up and walked to the tourists. He said in Finnish; "I am happy to translate all that you've said to my buddies over there. I'm sure they would appreciate your intelligent opinions!"
Needless to say that it made the tourists to finish their drinks quite fast and leave the bar.
Socialist ramblings??? Mitä vittua sä lumihuitale oikein itket???
The balls of those finns to talk about socialism when a socialist country devastated their country with 2 invasions within a few decades
If Russia tried reforming the Soviet Union I think Lauri would come clawing his way back out of Arlington.
The Shadow Man a few communists remain to be killed I see
@@theshadowman1398 I eat animals like you for brunch
@@theshadowman1398
Punk Ass
@@theshadowman1398 lol keep seething
OMG I thought the name sounded familiar. That was my dad's commander at FT Benning. Wow I didn't know anything about him other than he was the company commander. My father rest his soul went over to Vietnam with Cpt. Thorne. Hope they have been reunited by the big man upstairs.
Imagine turning on the history channel and its your dad's old boss
@@thrashandburn10221 History channel has done pieces on some of his other commanders no one else that close though. William Westmoreland, and Alexander Haig just to name a couple but those guys where generals. Both of my grandfathers served in WW II and they served with, or under some real historical heavy weights.
@@angelmaldonado7967 very cool. It really evokes that idea of all your friends riveted to your dads storytelling and you're just rolling your eyes in the corner. "Not again!"
Sounds sus. I don't even remember my own commanders name lol
@@chrisfoye1574 Which one?
If this guy had lived into the 1980s he would have been in Afghanistan helping the Mujahideen fight the Soviets.
then he wouldve been featured as an ally in black ops 2 where mason and woods fought with the mujahideen
@Klaidi Rubiku He was an openminded person.
They should've had a special award for him, just for surviving all that he did!
Klaidi Rubiku anything better then Communism 😎
@Klaidi Rubiku Yeah, so. . . ummmmmm. He literally joined the SS so that he could kill more of the people who took is home from him. I doubt he would care much about the specific ideology of the third abrahamic religion. It's not that much worse than the second. If you actually bother to think about it anyways.
This guy's life would make one hell of a mini-series.
Critics would say that the storyline is too ludicrous.
@@yeoltelly Heh yeah...Based on the REAL story...most of the critics..yeah right. :)
if i ever get to animate correctly, with all of my 8 months of research about him, id be able to make a mini-series!
5:00 Finland dosen't cede 12% of its population to the Soviet Union.
Finland evacuated is population from territorys that were cede to the Soviet Union. Nobody is so crazy that will stay voluntarily in Soviet Union.
Don't say nobody. A few stayed, and were sent to gulags in Siberia by Stalin.
@@roberthermann97 as a matter of fact not even a single person stayed
@@roberthermann97 It's not like the Finns were unaware of what Stalin would do to them
Don't forget that as a national trait, Finns are incapable of fear, as the rest of us know it.
@@iliilil5761 As a matter of fact, you are wrong.
Lauri Törni was one of the most interesting fellows to learn and read about as a fellow Finn... We truly had a lot of brave men fighting during the winter war and they were more than just numbers during the war, the person behind the legends was truly inspiring
Very brave these finns
I watched 'Tuntematon sotilas' last week and thought it was an excellent film, and amongst the best war films I've seen. My ears pricked up when a lot of the middle part of the video and the 'Continuation War' ties in with what was in the film. I had to check again to see that Törni was not in the film.
Ah, yes, human Liberty Prime.
@tk2887 What do you mean with "giant" version?
Democracy is non-negotiable!
The irony of Liberty prime is lost on so many people it's insane. Although this man does embody the idea of fighting for genocidal fascists as an aggressor.
@@georgejpg "The irony of Liberty prime is lost on so many people" lol imagine using fictional characters in a platinum selling video game for your crappy marxist metaphors. Ouch.
@@georgejpg this man fought for the defense of his homeland and vowed to destroy the ideology responsible for it
"Managed to at least in part communicate with a blend of hand gestures and shouted profanities" ... Sounds about right. That's actually a pretty good summary of most conversations between Finns too.
My grandpa fought with him in Osasto Törni along with former Finnish President Mauno Koivisto...
Kalle Kas how was the Törne through your grandpas perspective?
@@WheelerPro2000 I was told he was a quiet and determined man...
@@snc9297 It is a well known fact here in Finland.
@@snc9297 Luulin kyllä että tarkoitat Manua. Mutta kysy siltä itteltänsä. En hirveesti piittaa tuollaasista nimimerkin takaa huikituista negatiivisista kommenteista. Olisit heti kysynyt sitä nimeä - Kohteliaasti.
@@snc9297 Niinkuin jo edellä totesin oletin sinun tarkoittaneen Koivistoa. Ja olisin toivonut sinun kysyneen sen isoisän nimeä hänen pojanpojaltaan - Kohteliaasti - Ennenkuin aloit kommentoida negatiivisesti. En minä sinua missään vaiheessa tyhmänä pitänyt vaan mahdollisesti ulkomaalaisena joka ei tunne Suomen historiaa. Se siitä minun osaltani.
I found myself repeatedly hoping he lived long enough to see the wall fall, but alas it was not to be. On the bright side, at least he didn't die by stepping on yet ANOTHER damnable bloody landmine!
He died doing what he loved doing most!
Perhaps the helicopter landed on a mine
@@scepticalwalker3984 I've got a puppy you can kick after you tell me Santa isn't real! 🤔😉🤫
Yes, de-mining seemed to be an involuntary sideline.
Across the water a new start war still beating in his heart and the legend has been born. Started out a reserve soon promoted well deserved changed his name to Larry Thorne
*when deserved
This man seriously needs a movie about him
Absolutely.
What i have heard it is on the making finnish / American collab. Don't know when it really gonna happen tho.
@@japekki666 If you mean that Vietnam movie what Spike Lee is directing and where Jasper Pääkkönen has a side role, it has nothing to do with Lauri Törni like some people thought.
One of the characters in the Green Berets was based on him. Captain Kornie?
@@Winnangh Kirby.
Now to complete the Finnish solder list next would be Marshall Garl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim, the commander of white army and then Finnish army.
Demon Elf20 Yes!
Did he commit war crimes in Leningrad? Well not in... but by blocking all aid.
@@dannyarcher438 even more reason to learn from the faults in his character. Almost all historical figures have some sort of egregious flaw, that we can all learn from to be better and overcome.
@@This1Person nicely put. But I'm actually asking, I'm not sure about if he did.
@@dannyarcher438 Finland didn't take almost any part of the siege of Leningrad wich infuriated Hitler greatly. Leningrad wasn't on the interest of any kind for Finland. Soviets then took advantage over that to supply Leningrad during winter when Ladoga froze. During Continuation Finland pushed way over it's old border into Soviet territory and so they got close to Leningrad and stopped way before it because If they would have attacked there The losses would have been massive for Finland. Obviously Finnish troops committed warcrimes just like all the other sides did. The government didn't approve these actions tho. It's also a fact that Finland had some concentration camps on captured territory for The safety of their own troops. Camps were made to prevent partisan actions. It's propably true that Finland also attempted sometimes to stop the aid that Soviets tried get into Leningrad. Yet still Finland didn't want Leningrad. Also The modern Russian government also tries to put The blame on other countries when they are having a bad time to get people look elsewhere when they fucked up. They also like to make up those warcrimes if they can't find anything terrible enough. They have been keen on finnish warcrimes in recent days. ( Sorry for bad english and also for terrible autocorrect ). Have a great day!
As a Finn, so proud of Lauri and may he rest in peace.
Finns are a special people. You guys definitely have that spirit of freedom.
Sabaton.
Shout, Lauri Törni's name
A soldier of three armies knows the game
Keeps their echo from the past
Rise from beyond your grave
Son of Finland and the Green Beret
May you rest in peace at last
Lauri Allan Törni
Damn it I wanted to do that! 😂😂😂
Who wrote this? I very much like it.
@@veespa_ Sabaton. Great fucking band!
YAAAASSSS
I'm so happy that someone else thought of Sabaton like I did.
During the Continuation war soldier named Mauno Koivisto fought in Törnis unit and later became president of Finland in 1982-1994
Pretty crazy considering that he became a communist and was instrumental in ruining the Finnish economy to get us ready for the European Union. Finnish taxpayers were robbed clean, 10,000 entrepreneurs committed suicide and the banks won as always.
@@ImForwardlook And that he only was a part of an one expedition of the detachment Törni so he basically was NOT one of the Törnis men, the rest was just a made up legend to get the banker to ruin the nation...
@@MaxPussi Thank you, I did not know that "little" detail.
When he said a year later i was fully prepared to hear "Larry Thorne skied out of the jungle, drunk on homemade vodka with a portable sauna strapped to his back. Then he accidentally stepped on a russian landmine again, After a few weeks he again fleed from the hospital never to be seen again. In moonlit nights in the Vietnam when the wind is just right it is said you can see a silouet on the hilltops of an angry Fin shaking his fist in the direction of Russia screaming "Perkele" at the top of his lungs"
Yes, Finnish is a weird language. And yes, Simon pretty much butchered each and every Finnish name in the video. Even written names were off. But it's understandable.
I just shout PERKELE and everything is finish-ed
Sorry bro,but I ain't even gonna take a run at your name. No offense intended, but that's a tongue twister. Lol...
We get the same reaction when we write or speak Welsh.
@@darkstarnh I have Welsh family and miscellaneous household phrases were still in Welsh at my dad's house. I'm pretty sure Griffin is ultimately a Welsh surname, actually.
Hi Väinö Leppänen!
I need to comment on your comment. And the cause is in your name. My grandfather's (mother's side) brother's name was Väinö Leppänen. He died in the Winter War.
He was a wrestler, and 187cm high and weighing approximately 90 kg. My grandfather told that Väinö would have been able to participate in the 1940 Olympics as a so-called black horse with the Finnish wrestling team. The man he would have replaced would not have gotten there. And, as we know, that year’s Olympics, like the next ones, were not held because of the war.
My father was also a war veteran (he used light machine gun) who fought against the Russians in the Continuation War, including the delay battles of the Karelian Isthmus. He was then 19 years old. He died in a car accident in 1972 the age of 48. I was 9 years old at the time.
Larry is one of my favorite personalities I learned about during my time in the US Army. He has a building named after him and his own spot in the Fort Carson post museum.
I love how most of the transition titles are references to Sabaton's song about the man. Thank you Biographics
In Finnish history classes from elementary to high school, he’s mostly referred as a hero. Not in the books but unofficially by teachers. He’s like Risto Räty, ‘casualty of the war’, in a sense that we are not supposed to remember/celebrate him until enough time from the happening has gone by. So not to ‘offend’ parties such as Russia, Germany or even the US. Many actually quite controversial characters here in Finland that did what they had to at the time to ensure the independence of a relatively young, small country amongst the giants playing their games around us.
The only former SS soldier, who rests in Arlington...
CrazyLittleWorlds as far as I know he is
Disgraceful
@@RoCK3rAD if you watched the video, he only joined to fight Russia, something understandable with his past
@@RoCK3rAD Care to elaborate?
Hard to say for sure. After WW2 a lot of former German soldiers ended up in the American (and others) army.
Records were lost, intentionally or inadvertently destroyed, or towards the end of the war just never kept.
Remember everyone that SS units weren't only units that were involved with genocide but also army units that had nothing ever to do with civilian slaughter.
Nothing be said that we remember "A Soldier of 3 Armies" gather here.
Started out as a reserve
Soon promoted when deserved
And the legend has begun
With a bounty on his head
The red army wants him dead
Soviet enemy number one
As a warrior, you go where the enemy is.
Cross the Matterheim
Addicted to the *War Game*
Never ending flame
Victory recla~aimed
Oh, we remember, we remember, we remember
Read this guys story a million times, never get tired of hearing about him. Imagine if he teamed up with Simo "The White Death" Hiyha. Legendary.
I believe you meant Simo Häyhä?
That would be entirely too much baddass for the world to handle my guy. Peoples brains would melt. It's just too much.
@@dillongage Imagine the amount of Commie bodies getting stacked. Legendary.
I like to imagine that in a world where he survived Vietnam. He went on to fight the Soviets just one more during their invasion of Afghanistan, and after the Soviets had collapsed he said that it was the most beautiful thing that he had ever seen in his life.
His military record is amazing, but I am more surprised by his escaping abilities
Right? On most other people, this would be the main story, but it's just a side note for him.
"To Do The Right Thing, You Sometimes Have To Leave The Things You Care About Behind." -Big Boss
An amazing man! I was invited by the President of the Finnish War Veterans in America organization to attend his funeral at Arlington National Cemetery (because my father was a member of this organization) but I declined the invitation for some stupid reason. I'll regret that decision for the rest of my life.
A man who knew who the real enemy was.
The definition of "my enemy's enemy is my friend" !!!
Sabaton "Soldier of 3 Armies" lyrics incoming
Even though Larry/Lauri left Finland 1949 and eventually kept on fighting Soviet Union led communism in the US army (where he also became a highly valued soldier) until the end of his life the Finnish people never forgot what he had done for this country. In 2004 the Finnish national television (YLE) arranged a national vote on 100 greatest Finnish people ever. YLE created a initial list of 100 candidates but in the first round people were allowed to vote anyone, also people outside this list. The Finnish people voted Lauri Törni, who was not in the list created by Yle, to the second round and he eventually was voted the 52st greatest Finnish people ever among all the great writers, presidents, composers, etc.
Shout Lauri Törni’s name
a soldier of three armies knows the game
Keeps their echo from the past
Son of Finland and the Green Beret
Holy sh...! There's enough material for at least 10 season tv show! What a badass fighter!
Sadly the market value of a Finnish soldier (Even if he is American by the end of it) is so incredibly small.
If the US doesn't get to be a hero, there's unlikely to be any film or series made.
When your life has better plot than average netflix show.
Yep, there would be material for at least 10 seasons, but I hope Hollywood keeps their slimy paws off his story. Luckily he's not diverse enough a character to gather interest from them anyways. Unfortunately we live in an era where telling the story of a hero like Lauri Törni is no longer possible. Just imagine what a modern Larry Thorne TV show would look like. It would be a character assassination of him as a genocidal maniac fighting against the just and honorable communists. Much like the two communists tried to do in the Finnish language book mentioned at the end.
Closest of him that has been done is that John Wayne Green berets movie, word is that it was modelled after him. Some miniseries would be great.
@@AndyP998 john wayne dont portrait Thorne in the movie. Thorne is in the book that movie based but that character was not in the movie tho.
The world needs more men just like him.
nazi collaborators?
@@legendarcy2834 No. People who love to kill Commie/Socialist
No, anti communist warriors with insane bravery.@@legendarcy2834
@@legendarcy2834
Punk
@Andre Guitard classic right wing dolts: can't take a joke. But, to be fair neither can your family since they don't invite you over for thanksgiving anymore.
My father inlaw from Karelia in Finland fought in the continuation war against the Soviets in 1942. By the end of it he was only 1 of 3 blokes left out of the whole battalion. Following the war he immigrated to Oz as the Finns had to give his part of the country to Stalin as part of the peace deal.
So you're telling me that certain bad movie which portraits Vin Diesel as a former soldier turned nanny is based on real events??
Fiction has to make sense. Reality is under no such obligation.
Should do a biographic on Simo Häyhä
I think there is one already.
You should check the Sabaton History Channel, they have made a very good video about Simo Häyhä based on their song "White Death" which speaks about him. It's Heavy Metal telling history and it's really great!
Keegan 77 been done already
@@Iamtheliquor I thought so too but I can't find it on the channel
26:21 FINALLY A SABATON MENTION
It is really the first one? :o
Person: "So how many times did you escape from prison?"
Larry Thorne: "Yes".
As a finnish person and a history student i have couple corrections to this video: 1. Soviets officially wanted the istmus and the islands but molotov ribbentrop pact indicates the true goal was occupation of the entire country.
2. While it is true that soviets got some 10% of the land they did not get the people. 400 000 finnish citizens were evacuated from karelia and lost their homes of thousands of years. 3. Pronounciation of double vowels like in Viipuri is off. 4. Pronounciation of ö is bad you just said o. Also j in kaija is more like y in you than j in english
Otherwise great video and nice to see some finnish people in biographics!
You should check the Sabaton History Channel, they have made a very good video about him based on their song "Soldier of Three Armies" which speaks about him. It's Heavy Metal telling history and it's really great!
Clearly soviets would have taken whole Finland. See what happened with baltic countries. Soviets thought they could just walk over Finland.
Larry Thorne should be one of the "Incredible true stories that sits be a movie", along with Castle Itter.
Not in todays current society Hollywood's agenda is to make movies that fit their narrative. Everyone they oppose is called a Nazi and to humanize the regular normal people who fought on that side they wouldn't touch. Because it would humanize people they dislike in todays society. Roosevelt statue is being torn down, Jefferson statues, Washington's. Say goodbye to cop movies unless its Tarantino style inglorious basterds killing cops.
One of the best episodes to date. Thanks a lot Simon and Biographics team. Also Sabaton fans assemble!
Finally, I was hoping to see an episode on him for years and it's great
I didn't know he stepped on so many landmines! Sideshow Thorni probably had nightmares about landmines!!!!
I was going to say the same damn thing. You beat me by 58 minutes
If you already knew about him what is your interest in the video? Just asking
@@he_is_a_GOOBER_dont_disrespect I just really like his way of telling someone's life story
You should check the Sabaton History Channel, they have made a very good video about him based on their song "Soldier of Three Armies" which speaks about him. It's Heavy Metal telling history and it's really great!
The movie: "Green Barets" has been shown in Finlands TV only once. 1982. Sovjet Union was still alive, and they send a communicea to the TV controllers. Whining about Lauri Törnis part in it. Finlands offical response was "F.......U......". Even Breshnev understand that they had lost their grip of us.
Please Biographics, do a video of *Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim* this would be a very appropriate time after this Thorne video, and June is his birth month. This Finnish leader was a WWII military rarity born of nobility a man who even Hitler respected and admired more than I think any leader in the war.
@Østén Mádéru Hitler liked real military leaders and that was what Mannerheim was. His résumé shows that. Not to mention that Mannerheim had a very interesting career in Tzars army too and I think he is on their radar as he was mentioned several times during the video. Still expecting a video about him soon would be foolish it takes most likely several months of time of them researching the person before making the video. Still I would think we will see one of him some point.
But Mannerheim didn't like Hitler.
Btw if you search the net you can find a conversation that Mannerheim and Hitler had and a letter from Churchill to Mannerheim.
Mannerheim never liked Hitler.
Rambo: i thought i am a "real" badass
Törni: not quite..
Amazing that this guys story isn't taught in the U.S. Military, especially with the never quit, never give up attitude they pound in to you.
He's story is told when you join Green Berets. He has named Hangar there...painting before high ranked commander office and green berets every year compete Larry Thorne trophy.
Another in a long string of men whom, if you didn't know they were real, you'd call it too unrealistic.
Many Russians don’t even remember that war with Finland. But a lot of Finns still feel the loss almost a century later.
Fun fact: Mauno Koivisto, who would later serve as The President of Finland from 1982 to 1994, was a member of the Törni detachment during the Continuation War.
One has to admire his fiery hatred for communism.
@mxt mxt Yes, one does. The evidence is undeniable at this point. To defend communism in 2020, one has to be either retarded or genocidal.
@mxt mxt komrade
@@MTB53850 Or an ardent nationalist, who sees that capitalism has been destroying nation states. Nazbol/natcom is the future bois.
@@olehsztul6177 Don't think communism can fit well with nationalism unless you're talking about things like the Khmer Rouge.
@@angelusvastator1297 Look up Vasyl’ Shakhrai.
His life would make a great mini series. Love to see it on Netflix
Looks like a character from metal gear with a history to match
IKR
Great video Simon and crew!
What an incredible soldier.
It’s a tragedy that he had to flee his homeland that he fought to liberate.
SS Officer: "So why'd you join?"
Lorne: "I hate red."
Kudos for covering this warrior's tale.
This man's story should be made into a movie. Guaranteed Oscar winner!
He is one of my favorite people, thank you. Born a Soldier is a great book on him.
No wonder Lauri wan't payback. My family is from Karelia and my grandfather fight Continuation War and Lapland war. There's still some pain in my family after 76 years.
I swear at the end he was going to say. He was back somewhere else and fought 1 more war... That was a cliffhanger.. Man lived a wild and crazy life
That helicopter accident is just end of the source material and following season was so bad they did the right thing and never published it unlike GoT.
"So many Soviets! Where will we bury them all?"
Send 'em to Texas so they can use 'em for fertilizer.
@@jb6027 They already tried that in Ukraine shortly before WWII, didn't work, caused famine.
That man was a damn hero fighting against the most dangerous sickness humanity know.
Of course the American would rather prefer Italy's and Germany's ideology 😂
Well done! As per usual! On a personal note, I find your amiable and genuine manner to be much preferable to many others in a similar genre. You are much more expressive than most, and do not display that air of self importance and snide superiority so often displayed by others.
Further, I find your presentations to be exhaustive yet without needless information.
Thanks!
deeaplw
He is a snide little twat though when he tries to tell Americans about their rights to firearms which is against. We have enough of our on homegrown socialist to deal with on that subject we don't need anyone else from a different country preaching to us about it
Other soldiers are soldiers; this was a warrior.
Check out the metal band Sabaton’s song “Soldier of 3 Armies” written about this absolute legend
Check out the Sabaton History Channel for more about this badass AND their song "Soldier of Three Armies"!
Man I love all the references to soldier of three armies by sabaton :)
Reporter: how was it like to kill someone???
Lauri: Don't know all I've ever killed was Commies.
A comment so cool. The left wing reporter that asked immediately morph into John Wayne.
@Klaidi Rubiku I know, but this can apply to Lauri as well.
Lauri was 100% right
His home town was taken over by the Soviets, so he wanted to fight them on any front. Can you blame him?
There seriously needs to be a movie about this man. 🇺🇸
Absolute LEGEND! We need him now!
Larni Torni didnt switch sides, the armies he fought for did.
When Russians sleep at night they have to check under their beds for Larry Thorne.
A former finnish president Mauno Koivisto (1982 - 1994) served in the Infantry Detachment Törni led by Lauri Törni, which was a reconnaissance detachment operating behind enemy lines.
Thank you for mentioning Sabaton in this video, Simon. When I saw the header “All the Wars He Came Across...” that song went through my head. 🤘🏻
After opening the video with Gojira lyrics, no less. Fantastic video for a fan of both history and metal.
It's pretty incredible to have so many images of him. I don't usually get to see many photos of one regular man.
"shouted profanities" a.k.a. "PERKELE!!!!!!"
always great content from this channel
One of the better depictions of Töyrni/ Thorne and the wars he took part in, even if you have a really hard time pronouncing the Finnish names :D , but thanks for trying and making this awesome video. It was very informative and entertaining. Well balanced. Keep up the good work!
"Attacking Soviet tanks sounds really hard while on foot" is definitely a 2020 perspective
I get that you are doing broad strokes. But Mannerheim did not come into terms with a harsh reality, quite the opposite. He knew the distinct possibility of defeat from the get go, and thus did his best not to antagonize the soviets to such a degree that would lead to total conquest. As displayed with his decision's to not cut the Murmansk track, and to not close off the Leningrad encirclement.
A man truly born to be a soldier.
This man was the definition of _Hardboiled._
Been waiting for an episode for Larry Thorne. Good video and keep up the good work.
Awesome episode!! I would like to see episode about Simo "White Death" Häyhä, most deadliest sniper of history and also Finnish :)
As usual, a well structured and well documented narrative. Keep up the good work
Drill Sergeant : Lauri! What's your sole purpose in this army?
Lauri: to fight against communist....
FINALLY. MY BOY GETS THE LOVE HE DESERVES.
What a life. You could not make a film of his life as there’s no way they’d get all the action in 2 hours. Truly amazing.
There is a documentary about him it's in Finnish but has English subtitles
I like that the chapter names are lyrics from a song about said soldier.