Soldier Under Three Flags: Exploits of Special Forces' Captain Larry A. Thorne

by H.A. Gill III

A captivating story about a controversial WWII hero who fought for Finland, Germany, and the U.S.

Genres: Biography, Military Fiction, History, World War II

208 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1998

Reviews

[Matthew · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the story of Larry Thorne (originally Lauri Torni). Thorne first fought against the Soviets during the Finno-Soviet Winter War and then the Finno-Soviet Continuation War (once the Nazi-Soviet Pact brought down the uneasy forced peace between Finland and the Soviet Union). Thorne then fought the Soviets as a part of Waffen SS’s "Nordland" SS Division. After the conclusion of the Second World War, Thorne received an unpleasant return to Finland (due to part of the government being less anti-Soviet than the rabidly anti-Soviet Thorne who participated in hiding Finnish weapons between the Winter and Continuation Wars) and immigrates to the US via Venezuela. Once in the US, he enters the army, missing the Korean War by months, and ends up in the Special Forces to die on a covert mission into Laos looking for the Ho Chi Minh trail. The book is a quick read. However part of that is due to a lack of what would have been helpful details. This reader wished there was more context on Finland and Finnish politics, which would have helped with understanding why Thorne was not treated so well after the conclusion of WWII. Other readers may wish there was better treatment of Thorne’s time training and fighting with the SS (This section does seem to skate lightly over things.).