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Posted: 7/8/2021 8:36:07 PM EDT
 Nazi to Green Beret - The Soldier Who Somehow Joined Both the German and US Army |
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Posted: 7/8/2021 8:41:01 PM EDT
[#1]
Uncle Laurie!
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Posted: 7/8/2021 8:41:57 PM EDT
[#2]
Larry Thorne, USSF, he went to war in Vietnam with a Springfield bolt action, said it did not feel like going to war unless he had a bolt action rifle.
That's bad ass. Went into Cambo, to observe the first recon team's mission and never returned. The jungle swallowed up the helicopter he was in, no souls or the bird ever found. |
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Posted: 7/8/2021 9:11:45 PM EDT
[#3]
Quote HistoryQuoted: The jungle swallowed up the helicopter he was in, no souls or the bird ever found. Except they did find the helo and recover his remains along with the rest of those on board. |
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Posted: 7/8/2021 9:16:39 PM EDT
[#4]
Nobody writes songs about mere mortals.
 [Old/Vanha] Sabaton - Soldier of 3 Armies Lyrics (English & Suomeksi) |
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Posted: 7/8/2021 9:18:21 PM EDT
[#5]
The man hated communists. A true Hammer of the Right.
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Posted: 7/8/2021 9:22:59 PM EDT
[#6]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Except they did find the helo and recover his remains along with the rest of those on board. My bad I mixed up this fine soldiers death with SOG Recon legend Jerry "Mad Dog" Shriver disappearance while on a patrol. Unfortunately, so many SOG men disappeared into the jungles of Laos and Cambodia. |
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Posted: 7/8/2021 9:23:27 PM EDT
[#7]
Talk about never say quit. Wow.
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Posted: 7/8/2021 9:28:09 PM EDT
[#8]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Uncle Laurie! How high of esteem does he still hold in the Community? @18B30 |
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Posted: 7/8/2021 9:29:38 PM EDT
[#9]
Hell bent on killing commies no matter what uniform he wore.
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Posted: 7/8/2021 9:29:51 PM EDT
[#10]
King.
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Posted: 7/8/2021 9:31:59 PM EDT
[#11]
Some guys just want to fight.
ETA: That Pole was another one, the guy who said, “I wouldn’t know. I only ever killed communists.” |
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Posted: 7/8/2021 9:33:43 PM EDT
[#12]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Except they did find the helo and recover his remains along with the rest of those on board. Quote HistoryQuoted: Quoted: The jungle swallowed up the helicopter he was in, no souls or the bird ever found. Except they did find the helo and recover his remains along with the rest of those on board.   |
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Posted: 7/8/2021 9:38:03 PM EDT
[#13]
Lauri Torni was not a Nazi, and you shouldn't be labelling him as such in your title. The SS battalion he fought with was primarily Finnish volunteers who wanted to fight the Soviets over Soviet occupation of large portions of Finnish territory. He was fighting against the Soviets more than for the Germans. And yes, he was badass. |
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Posted: 7/8/2021 9:39:14 PM EDT
[#14]
Quote HistoryQuoted: How high of esteem does he still hold in the Community? @18B30 Quote HistoryQuoted: Quoted: Uncle Laurie! How high of esteem does he still hold in the Community? @18B30 I'm not 18B30, but I can tell you his is a legend. Not just in SF, but the SOF community as a whole. |
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Posted: 7/8/2021 9:43:48 PM EDT
[#15]
good stuff
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Posted: 7/8/2021 9:44:39 PM EDT
[#16]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Except they did find the helo and recover his remains along with the rest of those on board. These guys never give up on these cases. They have my respect. |
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Posted: 7/8/2021 9:44:44 PM EDT
[#17]
Quote HistoryQuoted: I'm not 18B30, but I can tell you his is a legend. Not just in SF, but the SOF community as a whole. Quote HistoryQuoted: Quoted: Quoted: Uncle Laurie! How high of esteem does he still hold in the Community? @18B30 I'm not 18B30, but I can tell you his is a legend. Not just in SF, but the SOF community as a whole. I figured as much. I wonder how much influence he would have had in the overall strategy in Vietnam if he wouldn't have died in the crash? Crazy to think how much one man could have changed the outcome of a conflict. |
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Posted: 7/8/2021 9:49:00 PM EDT
[#18]
He is "Sven" in the book "The Green Berets" by Robin Moore. I always wondered about that until they came out a few years back and said it was Larry Thorne.
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Posted: 7/8/2021 9:55:49 PM EDT
[#19]
Quote HistoryQuoted: I figured as much. I wonder how much influence he would have had in the overall strategy in Vietnam if he wouldn't have died in the crash? Crazy to think how much one man could have changed the outcome of a conflict. Virtually none, most likely. Majors don't typically have much to do at all with strategy at the level you're thinking of. Even really smart and well known ones. |
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Posted: 7/8/2021 10:09:00 PM EDT
[#20]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Lauri Torni was not a Nazi, and you shouldn't be labelling him as such in your title. The SS battalion he fought with was primarily Finnish volunteers who wanted to fight the Soviets over Soviet occupation of large portions of Finnish territory. He was fighting against the Soviets more than for the Germans. And yes, he was badass. History is history. You are welcome to your own opinion, but not your own facts. Watch the video, tell us where they got it wrong, back it up with facts, and I'll ask for a thread lock. According to the video, once he left Finland and went to Germany and surrendered to the Allies in Berlin, things changed for him even in Finland, where he once was a national hero, and when he escaped the Allies and returned to Finland he was arrested. After escaping several times and being recaptured, he finally was given a pardon by Finland. He was arrested by both the Allies and the Fins because he was in Berlin fighting as a Nazi. To me and evidently to most everyone in the entire world, he had honorable intentions and yes he clearly was fighting against the Soviets more than any ideology, but the facts are facts. If you can dispute the facts, I would love to read your post. If you are disagreeing with the terminology, I'm not positive that will withstand scrutiny.  |
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Posted: 7/8/2021 10:14:49 PM EDT
[#21]
Quote HistoryQuoted: History is history. You are welcome to your own opinion, but not your own facts. Watch the video, tell us where they got it wrong, back it up with facts, and I'll ask for a thread lock. According to the video, once he left Finland and went to Germany and surrendered to the Allies in Berlin, things changed for him even in Finland, where he once was a national hero, and when he escaped the Allies and returned to Finland he was arrested. After escaping several times and being recaptured, he finally was given a pardon by Finland. He was arrested by both the Allies and the Fins because he was in Berlin fighting as a Nazi. To me and evidently to most everyone in the entire world, he had honorable intentions and yes he clearly was fighting against the Soviets more than any ideology, but the facts are facts. If you can dispute the facts, I would love to read your post. If you are disagreeing with the terminology, I'm not positive that will withstand scrutiny. I'm too lazy to look it up at the moment, and am on my way to crash into bed, but I'll humor you tomorrow with some resources. He fought in a foreign volunteer SS battalion- as a general rule, everyone fighting as part of the SS were categorically considered war criminals. Politics were very much at play with his arrest by the Finnish government (didn't want to piss off the Soviets since Finland had officially ceased hostilities with the USSR years before), and similarly politics played a part in his being pardoned. Calling Lauri Torni a Nazi is as bad as calling Erwin Rommel, a guy who while a successful officer nonetheless refused to join the Nazi Party and eventually tried to kill Hitler, a Nazi. |
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Posted: 7/8/2021 10:15:26 PM EDT
[#22]
It’s inaccurate to call everyone who wore a German uniform a Nazi.
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Posted: 7/8/2021 10:16:45 PM EDT
[#23]
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Posted: 7/8/2021 10:17:33 PM EDT
[#24]
Quote HistoryQuoted: History is history. You are welcome to your own opinion, but not your own facts. Watch the video, tell us where they got it wrong, back it up with facts, and I'll ask for a thread lock. According to the video, once he left Finland and went to Germany and surrendered to the Allies in Berlin, things changed for him even in Finland, where he once was a national hero, and when he escaped the Allies and returned to Finland he was arrested. After escaping several times and being recaptured, he finally was given a pardon by Finland. He was arrested by both the Allies and the Fins because he was in Berlin fighting as a Nazi. To me and evidently to most everyone in the entire world, he had honorable intentions and yes he clearly was fighting against the Soviets more than any ideology, but the facts are facts. If you can dispute the facts, I would love to read your post. If you are disagreeing with the terminology, I'm not positive that will withstand scrutiny. Fighting as a Nazi because you hated the Soviets for invading your home country is not the same thing as fighting as a Nazi because you support Hitler gassing the Jews. There is nuance behind such things that can go beyond the uniform. He didn't take up a command of a concentration camp and shoot people for sport. He found a way to keep fighting the Soviets who had attacked his homeland. |
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Posted: 7/8/2021 10:20:55 PM EDT
[#25]
You should read up about Marttinen's Men. The secret war in Laos had several Finns participating such as obviously Torni and his commanding officer Keravuori but there were other Europeans as well, I know of at least 3 Estonians.
 Guerrilla, U.S.A. - The Big Picture The guerrilla leader in this film crossed water and fought in https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Finnish_Infantry_Regiment_200,was lucky enough to have not been caught in Sweden when he escaped and made his way to the US where he joined the Army and went on to serve with MACV-SOG. Kind of funny but he has a Finnish pukko on his belt  Attached File |
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Posted: 7/8/2021 10:21:20 PM EDT
[#26]
My dad said in bootcamp (Korean War era) the recruits were called to attention and one of them gave up a Sig Heil out of habit.
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Posted: 7/8/2021 10:23:09 PM EDT
[#27]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Virtually none, most likely. Majors don't typically have much to do at all with strategy at the level you're thinking of. Even really smart and well known ones. I'm familiar with that. My history sucks regarding SOF in Vietnam but I thought I had read somewhere he pretty much ran all of the clandestine operations in Vietnam. |
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Posted: 7/8/2021 10:23:17 PM EDT
[#28]
Quote HistoryQuoted: How high of esteem does he still hold in the Community? @18B30 Quote HistoryQuoted: Quoted: Uncle Laurie! How high of esteem does he still hold in the Community? @18B30 Higher than non-tabbed shit posters who never served in the Legion nor flew covey missions over RT in hostile terrain. 18Z50 |
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Posted: 7/8/2021 10:29:53 PM EDT
[#29]
Quote HistoryQuoted: I'm familiar with that. My history sucks regarding SOF in Vietnam but I thought I had read somewhere he pretty much ran all of the clandestine operations in Vietnam. No. The fellow who ran the early trail watch missions into Laos was indeed a Finnish Colonel though,I mentioned him a couple posts up,Aito Keravuori. That would be him on the left during the Winter War  Attached File |
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Posted: 7/8/2021 10:37:17 PM EDT
[#30]
Lauri Torni threads! The guy understood how to make good communists.
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Posted: 7/8/2021 10:39:49 PM EDT
[#31]
Quote HistoryQuoted: History is history. You are welcome to your own opinion, but not your own facts. Watch the video, tell us where they got it wrong, back it up with facts, and I'll ask for a thread lock. According to the video, once he left Finland and went to Germany and surrendered to the Allies in Berlin, things changed for him even in Finland, where he once was a national hero, and when he escaped the Allies and returned to Finland he was arrested. After escaping several times and being recaptured, he finally was given a pardon by Finland. He was arrested by both the Allies and the Fins because he was in Berlin fighting as a Nazi. To me and evidently to most everyone in the entire world, he had honorable intentions and yes he clearly was fighting against the Soviets more than any ideology, but the facts are facts. If you can dispute the facts, I would love to read your post. If you are disagreeing with the terminology, I'm not positive that will withstand scrutiny. Be sure and read and understand the red highlighted portion. Again. I think the man is a hero and a true badass. AND not every Nazi was a bona fide war criminal, so if the terminology is upsetting your apple cart, that isn't anyone's fault but your own. |
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Posted: 7/8/2021 10:41:47 PM EDT
[#32]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Higher than non-tabbed shit posters who never served in the Legion nor flew covey missions over RT in hostile terrain. 18Z50 lol I have "A Soldier Under Three Flags" on my reading list. Everything I have read so far is the man was pretty much bred for guerilla warfare. |
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Posted: 7/8/2021 10:44:36 PM EDT
[#33]
Quote HistoryQuoted: History is history. You are welcome to your own opinion, but not your own facts. Watch the video, tell us where they got it wrong, back it up with facts, and I'll ask for a thread lock. According to the video, once he left Finland and went to Germany and surrendered to the Allies in Berlin, things changed for him even in Finland, where he once was a national hero, and when he escaped the Allies and returned to Finland he was arrested. After escaping several times and being recaptured, he finally was given a pardon by Finland. He was arrested by both the Allies and the Fins because he was in Berlin fighting as a Nazi. To me and evidently to most everyone in the entire world, he had honorable intentions and yes he clearly was fighting against the Soviets more than any ideology, but the facts are facts. If you can dispute the facts, I would love to read your post. If you are disagreeing with the terminology, I'm not positive that will withstand scrutiny. Quote HistoryQuoted: Quoted: Lauri Torni was not a Nazi, and you shouldn't be labelling him as such in your title. The SS battalion he fought with was primarily Finnish volunteers who wanted to fight the Soviets over Soviet occupation of large portions of Finnish territory. He was fighting against the Soviets more than for the Germans. And yes, he was badass. History is history. You are welcome to your own opinion, but not your own facts. Watch the video, tell us where they got it wrong, back it up with facts, and I'll ask for a thread lock. According to the video, once he left Finland and went to Germany and surrendered to the Allies in Berlin, things changed for him even in Finland, where he once was a national hero, and when he escaped the Allies and returned to Finland he was arrested. After escaping several times and being recaptured, he finally was given a pardon by Finland. He was arrested by both the Allies and the Fins because he was in Berlin fighting as a Nazi. To me and evidently to most everyone in the entire world, he had honorable intentions and yes he clearly was fighting against the Soviets more than any ideology, but the facts are facts. If you can dispute the facts, I would love to read your post. If you are disagreeing with the terminology, I'm not positive that will withstand scrutiny. Find a reference stating he was a card carrying member of the National Socialist German Workers' Party. He joined a SS unit made up of foreigners to fight Soviets and battle communism. No more, no less. |
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Posted: 7/8/2021 10:48:29 PM EDT
[#34]
Quote HistoryQuoted: No. The fellow who ran the early trail watch missions into Laos was indeed a Finnish Colonel though,I mentioned him a couple posts up,Aito Keravuori. That would be him on the left during the Winter War https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/56204/A1AD03FB-7272-40A2-9CD4-5C8C51D07F5E_jpe-2006960.JPG My Grandfather was good friends with Aito Keravuori. I spent many times visiting Aito when I was a kid. Being older now I wish I could have heard his stories. |
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Posted: 7/8/2021 10:50:57 PM EDT
[#35]
How come so many people think everyone in the German Army in WWII was an actual Nazi?
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Posted: 7/8/2021 10:55:46 PM EDT
[#36]
Quote HistoryQuoted: How come so many people think everyone in the German Army in WWII was an actual Nazi? According to /pol on Reddit everyone who voted for Trump is a Nazi. There are more Nazis now than there were in 1945 so don’t worry too much about it 
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Posted: 7/8/2021 11:00:51 PM EDT
[#37]
Quote HistoryQuoted: My Grandfather was good friends with Aito Keravuori. I spent many times visiting Aito when I was a kid. Being older now I wish I could have heard his stories. Quote HistoryQuoted: Quoted: No. The fellow who ran the early trail watch missions into Laos was indeed a Finnish Colonel though,I mentioned him a couple posts up,Aito Keravuori. That would be him on the left during the Winter War https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/56204/A1AD03FB-7272-40A2-9CD4-5C8C51D07F5E_jpe-2006960.JPG My Grandfather was good friends with Aito Keravuori. I spent many times visiting Aito when I was a kid. Being older now I wish I could have heard his stories. Respect! |
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Posted: 7/8/2021 11:06:13 PM EDT
[#38]
Quote HistoryQuoted: My Grandfather was good friends with Aito Keravuori. I spent many times visiting Aito when I was a kid. Being older now I wish I could have heard his stories. That is really neat that you met him,just having that connection is pretty incredible. |
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Posted: 7/8/2021 11:07:39 PM EDT
[#39]
Quote HistoryQuoted: How come so many people think everyone in the German Army in WWII was an actual Nazi? Because we sided with the Communists and have been lapping up their propaganda for 80 years. |
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Posted: 7/8/2021 11:08:21 PM EDT
[#40]
I see we all watch the same shit
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Posted: 7/8/2021 11:09:03 PM EDT
[#41]
Quote HistoryQuoted: My bad I mixed up this fine soldiers death with SOG Recon legend Jerry "Mad Dog" Shriver disappearance while on a patrol. Unfortunately, so many SOG men disappeared into the jungles of Laos and Cambodia. Except you are mixed up again. Shriver wasn't on a helicopter or in a patrol, he was on a Hatchet Force, they were doing a BDA/Attack on COSVN. The troops were pinned down on the LZ and Shriver and some yards charged into the NVA and were never seen again. |
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Posted: 7/8/2021 11:13:10 PM EDT
[#42]
Quote HistoryQuoted: I see we all watch the same shit It is crazy isn't it? |
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Posted: 7/8/2021 11:21:24 PM EDT
[#43]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Because we sided with the Communists and have been lapping up their propaganda for 80 years. Quote HistoryQuoted: Quoted: How come so many people think everyone in the German Army in WWII was an actual Nazi? Because we sided with the Communists and have been lapping up their propaganda for 80 years. Can’t be said often, nor loudly enough. 
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Posted: 7/8/2021 11:32:38 PM EDT
[#44]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Because we sided with the Communists and have been lapping up their propaganda for 80 years. |
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Posted: 7/8/2021 11:39:43 PM EDT
[#45]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Lauri Torni was not a Nazi, and you shouldn't be labelling him as such in your title. The SS battalion he fought with was primarily Finnish volunteers who wanted to fight the Soviets over Soviet occupation of large portions of Finnish territory. He was fighting against the Soviets more than for the Germans. And yes, he was badass. Quote HistoryQuoted: Lauri Torni was not a Nazi, and you shouldn't be labelling him as such in your title. The SS battalion he fought with was primarily Finnish volunteers who wanted to fight the Soviets over Soviet occupation of large portions of Finnish territory. He was fighting against the Soviets more than for the Germans. And yes, he was badass. No shit, lest the nannies that see "white supremacists" everywhere get downwind of this mischaracterization. |
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Posted: 7/9/2021 12:53:37 AM EDT
[#46]
Quote HistoryQuoted: History is history. You are welcome to your own opinion, but not your own facts. So what was his NSDAP membership number? Can't be a real Nazi unless you join the club. |
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Posted: 7/9/2021 1:02:12 AM EDT
[#47]
Quote HistoryThat is EPIC!!!!!!!!   Slotting commies across continents and wars!
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Posted: 7/9/2021 1:48:43 AM EDT
[#48]
Quoted: How come so many people think everyone in the German Army in WWII was an actual Nazi? Public schools and the media, White? German? Alive? Nazi! Quoted: According to /pol on Reddit everyone who voted for Trump is a Nazi. There are more Nazis now than there were in 1945 so don’t worry too much about it Ah if you go to reddit you will find that is the case, Reddit really is a death spiral of a website and proof that leftist can never be given moderation powers because they will abuse it. And yeah, because of leftist policies their are far more based and red pilled people now then ever before. |
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Posted: 7/9/2021 1:50:02 AM EDT
[#49]
Quoted: Because we sided with the Communists and have been lapping up their propaganda for 80 years. Quoted: Can’t be said often, nor loudly enough. Quoted: Bingo Almost like we should not have stopped the USSR from getting its ass handed to it in a high hat. Once again FDR ruins everything. |
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Posted: 7/9/2021 1:59:10 AM EDT
[#50]
Quote HistoryQuoted: My Grandfather was good friends with Aito Keravuori. I spent many times visiting Aito when I was a kid. Being older now I wish I could have heard his stories. Salute |
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