Larry Alan Thorne was born Lauri Allan Torni in Viipuri, Finland. Been a hectic week, so Im a few days late reading this one. Growing up, I remember my step dad telling me all about Larry Thorne and the war games they played in. Subject: Re: Major Larry A. Thorne Deceased 18 Oct.'65 He was not a paid warrior, but fought because he believed in what he was doing serving the army was his career. Many of these reports document LIVE America Prisoners of War remaining captive throughout Southeast Asia TODAY. Helpfulness 5. - Follow me, Thorne shouted and started running towards his estimated landing site. As a result, despite his holding the Mannerheim Cross Torni was arrested and sentenced to six years in prison. While an SF soldier, he instructed survival, skiing, mountaineering, and guerilla tactics. Birth. While with 10thGroup he led a successful covert mission into Iran to recover sensitive equipment and bodies from a downed USAF C130 cargo plane. Spec Ops Magazine 2023 All Rights Reserved. He was assigned to the Military Assistance Command, VietnamStudies and Observations Group (MACV-SOG). Legendary Finnish war hero Lauri Trni (Larry Thorne) to get final resting place in Arlington National Cemetery. During the early years of World War II, he developed, trained and commanded the Finish ski troops. Andy Hollingsworth, an operations specialist with U.S. Africa Command/ European Command Regional Operations, was a young Army captain on a joint task force recovery team that discovered Thorne's remains at a crash site deep in the mountains of Vietnam in the summer of 1999. Unfortunately for Lauri Trni, his homeland eventually fell to the communists in 1944. . His posthumous promotion to Major was approved in December 1965. The USG has finally closed the case on Larry A. Thorne. It fed on 36-round stick magazines and cycled at a sedate 600 rounds per minute. 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.. In US Marines Trni was known as Larry Thorne. Dr. Leonard E. " Larry " Thorne 08/17/1938 - 04/08/2014 Age 75 Of St. Paul, MN Passed away on April 8, 2014. Larry K Thorne, 74. Major Larry Alan Thorne is the only former member of the Waffen SS to be found there. At the time he went missing CPT Thorne was armed with a Swedish Carl Gustav m/45 submachine gun. Other Personnel In Incident: (none missing). FINALLY after 37+ years CLOSURE. Source: Compiled in 1989 from one or more of the following: raw data from U.S. Government agency sources, correspondence with POW/MIA families, published sources, interviews. He has parachuted out of perfectly good airplanes at 3 oclock in the morning and summited Mount McKinley, Alaska, six timesalways at the controls of an Army helicopter, which is the only way sensible folk climb mountains. Lauri Torni was born in 1919 in Viipuri (a part of Finland occupied by Russia since the end of WW2), joined the Finnish army in 1938 and served as a patrol NCO during the Winter War (1939-1940), a prelude to WW2 where the Soviet Union launched an invasion of Finland. They planned to take him to Moscow to be tried for war crimes. 1. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it. BACKGROUND: War hero's unbelievable life in the service of two countries, DNA testing to resolve the fate of Larry Thorne (14.9.1999) Trni was not the only Finnish soldier to serve under more than one flag, as this article indicates: Finnish officer becomes legend in US Army (3.10.2000). 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. Not that being put into a prison camp would stop him either. For his bravery in defense of Finland Captain Lauri Allan Trni, *1919 1965 (also known as Larry Alan Thorne) earned every Finnish medal of valor including the Mannerheim Cross. Regards, Clyde (Clyde J. Sincere, Jr. 11722 Lariat Lane Oakton, Virginia 22124-2323 (703) 620-0953[emailprotected]. The second best result is Larry Edward Thorne age 60s in Auburn, AL. HUNTSVILLE, Ala. -- Larry Thorne would have been 97 next month. The number of MACV-SOG missions conducted with Special Forces reconnaissance teams into Laos and Cambodia was 452 in 1969. Larry Thorne - Special Forces Legend. During two tours in Vietnam with the MACV-SOG, Thorne ran deep cover into Cambodia and Laos to track down the North Vietnamese supply network that became known as the Ho Chi Minh Trail. Starting in his homeland Finland, doing some time in Nazi-Germany SS Division, and finally got killed in Laos as a US Army Special Forces member. Throughout the late 1950's, the budding U.S. Army Special Forces had been building a controversial force to conduct unconventional warefare. The titular central character is the aforementioned Roman legionary. Thorne was born Lauri Allan Trni in Finland in 1919. May you Rest in Peace at last Larry Thorne is the current owner and farmer, along with his wife, Laurel, and their children. This border road was used by the Communists to transport weapons, supplies and troops from North Vietnam into South Vietnam, and was frequently no more than a path cut through the jungle covered mountains. Larry A. Thorne is the only American POW/MIA to fight communism under three flags - those of Finland, Germany and America. Juha Rajala, Larry's nephew has scheduled a Press Release for 10 June in Finland announcing the decision by the USG as it relates to Larry. The day before the interment, a memorial service will be arranged. Purple Heart, one Distinguished Flying Cross. Slats and his RT conducted a successful mission and returned to Kham Duc at a later date. He was memorialized on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial at Panel 02E, Line 126. Larry had no idea what to make of that and watched the others at the table eat them, then he dove in and loved them. Join Facebook to connect with Larry Thorne and others you may know. It was a mission in which others had failed, but Thornes unrelenting spirit led to its accomplishment. However, in 1999 a Joint Task Force-Full Accounting team along with Finnish personnel located his crash site. He left his home-country to fight for one that was not his native home, but for the men to the left and right of him.". ISBN : 0-934793-65-4 Lauri Allan Trni! He was buried at Arlington National Cemetery on June 26, 2003 with full honors along with the remains of the RVNAF casualties from the crash. Larry Thorne's remains were found in 1999 and formally identified in 2003. Started out as a reserve, There are roughly 400,000 veterans and eligible dependents buried at Arlington National Cemetery. That's because his real name was Lauri Trni, and he had been fighting the Soviets for much of his adult life. They recovered several fragments of bones and a Swedish-made machine pistol that Thorne carried with him. 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) Still, he refused and instead requested command of a special-operations base, and thats what he lived and died for. That is where Lauri Trni saw his opportunity for a new beginning. Master Jeweler at Jensen Jewelers, Billings, Montana November 17, 2021 - Present Jeweler and Diamond setter for 41 years May 2, 2020 to present College Studied at Valley City State University High school No schools to show Photos See all photos Others Named Larry Thorne Lawrence Thorne Lorenzo Thorne Lawrence Franklin Thorne Lorenzo Thorne We also owe them theirs. Political alliances in the 1940s were complicated, and when arrayed against the Russian bear the Finns found themselves fighting alongside the Germans. They have also lived in Dadeville, AL and Opelika, AL. All personnel were initially transported to Kham Doc Forward Operating Base (FOB) in preparation for their launch into Laos in search of what would eventually be known as the Ho Chi Minh Trail. Master Sergeant Charles Slats Petry, team leader; Sergeant First Class Willie Card, 1 South Vietnamese Army Lieutenant and 7 Nungs comprised Recon Team (RT) Iowa, the team to be inserted. In 1943 he took command of his eponymous Detachment Torni, a deep penetration special operations unit that took the fight to the Russians deep in their rear areas, cut off and alone. Copyright 2023 by arlingtoncemetery.net. U.S. Air Force Major Harley B. Pyles, pilot; and U.S. Marine Corps Captain Winfield W. Sisson, observer and Marine MACV-SOG air liaison officer; comprised the crew of an O1E Bird Dog, call sign Bird Dog 55, the number 2 aircraft in a flight of two that would coordinate all aircraft involved in inserting RT Iowa. Trni's fate was finally confirmed, not by a DNA sample, but from his dental records. During World War II, Torni trained with the Waffen SS in Germany and fought alongside Finnish and German guerrillas against the Soviets. American military men in Vietnam and Laos were called upon to fly and fight in many dangerous circumstances, and they were prepared to be wounded, killed or captured. He had simply disappeared. Larry Thorne was awarded the Bronze Star medal for heroism and five Purple Hearts for combat wounds. A joint U.S.-Socialist Republic of Vietnam team found the wreckage in 1997, and the site was excavated in 1999. The book Born a Soldier: The Times and Life of Larry A Thorne by J. Michael Cleverley inspired the song's lyrics. Army Special Forces and CIA operators used the weapon as well. Lauri Trni aka Larry Thorne as a Special Forces officer played the role of Charlie . Larry Thorne Jr. is known for One Summer (2021), Greenleaf (2016) and Christmas in Harmony (2021). He is the only veteran of the Waffen SS interred in this hallowed space. Lauri Torni hated the threat of communism so much that he was willing to join any army to fight it. As he came of age, Lauri joined the national reserve of the Finnish Army. Larry Thorne in the U.S. Army. "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. Is this the Will Dabbs from Clarksdale? Torni trained with the Waffen SS starting in 1941 and was eventually promoted to Untersturmfuhrer. 1. Of the many distinguished officers the 20 th century produced, Larry Thorne was one of the most romantic and enigmatic. Commander U.S. Navy 1964-1970 10-103 Lakeview Dr. Rancho Mirage, Ca 92270 760-328-0859 dr.dave.psam@gmail.com read more POSTED ON 7.29.2022 POSTED BY: Lucy Micik Thank You Dear Maj Larry Thorne, Thank you for your service as a Special Forces Qualified Infantry Unit Commander. Lane David Michael. Knowledge 5. After that, only silence was heard in response to repeated attempts to raise anyone aboard the Kingbee. 3. A few included a superb sound suppressor. Oooh we remember, we remember, we remember He served in the United States Army, 5th Special Forces. Trni had a dental crown on his tooth number 18. The Army would regularly conduct war games that interacted with the civilian population. [emailprotected]writes: Gentlemen: Great News. Time and Location as yet to be determined. Rise, from beyond your grave, According to reports, the SAR personnel found and recovered the remains of the South Vietnamese aircrew, but found no sign of Larry Thorne either dead or alive. In September 1965, the infiltration of reconnaissance teams into Laos, Codenamed: Shining Brass, was approved, but severe limitations by Washington restricted the teams to penetrate no deeper than 50 kilometers into Laos. Trni entered military service 1938 and was promoted to Corporal before the Winter war began. In February 1965, then Captain Larry Thorne returned to Long Thanh, South Vietnam for his second tour of duty. The crazy story of the man who fought for Finland, the Nazis, and US Army Special Forces. Great story! Dr. Dabbs this was an great article, I thought that I was the only Casca fan, I started reading them in the early 80s! Once Captain Thorne received a message from RT Iowa that their insertion was successful, he transmitted that his aircraft was also on its way back. 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