Linda's Friend Comments

Hi Linda. I am happy to befriends with you. I see that you do read a lot. Please look into my book, which is a great memoir of a young bou growing up in Finland during the Russian war.
Hello Linda. Thank you for having me aboard..

My name is John (Juha in Finnish) Raikkonen. I lived through the Finnish - Russian war in Finland and Sweden. The first war was in 1939, lasting only a year, when a tentative peace treaty was signed. I had been living in in Oulu, in North Finland for two years with my grandparents. Year 1942 brought the war back Many- many youngsters were sent to Sweden for safety. I was shipped over also to some family friends for four years to Orsa
In the Dalarna region.

In 1945 a new peace treaty with Russia was signed, with several stipulations and loss of our land in the Karelia area, in the South-East Finland and monetary obligations.
At that time the Germans were fighting against Russia over the Finnish Lapland border. Before the peace treaty took effect, Finland had to chase the Germans away. As they left our country, they destroyed everything ahead of them. They did more damage than the Russians ever did. It was a devastating blow to our small country.

My coming back to Finland after several years to the city of Hameenlinna, where my mother, brother and sister lived, was heavenly. Our father was still involved with the war and when he finally came home, highly decorated by Field Marshall Mannerham, we were so happy. The happiness did not last as he demanded divorce from mother and disappeared from our life without any financial help.

Life was hard for our little family for a few years, until mother got her old position back at the international famous Aulanko Hotel and resort. We moved to the Hotel’s premises and life became grand.

At age seventeen, I received a miracle. A wealthy widower from Philadelphia invited me to come to America, by paying for the travel, enrolling me into high school and later into college. It was like a dream. I had always heard that America was the land of opportunity. I grabbed hold of the new life and true to the “opportunity” saying, and eventually became a sought after Country Club Manager for many years in Philadelphia, Minneapolis and St Louis.

The last step was owning our own first class Italian Restaurant in Fairhaven MA for 23 years. Finally after selling the restaurant we retired and moved to South Carolina, just outside of Charleston, next to our daughter and three grandchildren.

I must say that I am a proud American from Finland, which lately has been in the news as an model country in the world.

Hi, there! Thanks for accepting my friend request! : )

Thank you for adding me as a friend. =)

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