Olavi Alakulppi
Alakulppi during the Continuation War
Born17 July 1915
Rovaniemi, Finland
Died19 August 1990 (1990-08-20) (aged 75)
Petersburg, Virginia, United States
AllegianceFinland Finland
United States United States
Service/branchFinnish Army
United States Army
Rank Captain (Finland)
Lieutenant colonel (USA)
Battles/wars

Olavi Eelis Alakulppi (17 July 1915 – 19 August 1990) was a Finnish military officer and cross-country skier.

Life and career

Alakulppi was born in Rovaniemi, Finland, to Elis and Senja Alakulppi (née Törmänen).

Alakulppi served in the Finnish Army during the Winter War and the Continuation War. In 1942, he was awarded the Mannerheim Cross.

In 1945, in order to evade prosecution for his involvement in the Weapons Cache Case, he skied to Sweden and arranged for his wife Eevi, their son Vesa, and him to travel to the United States, where he joined the United States Army.[1] He then fought in the Korean War, and served in South Korea, Japan, and West Germany.[2][3] Vesa Juhani Alakulppi eventually followed his father into the military[4] and was killed in action during the Vietnam War.[5][6]

Alakulppi retired from the US Army in 1968 as a lieutenant-colonel. He died in 1990 in Petersburg, Virginia, and is buried in the Arlington National Cemetery.

While Alakulppi served as a company commander in West Germany in the 1950s, his personal chauffeur was Elvis Presley, who was carrying out his military service.[7]

During the late 1950s, Alakulppi requested a United Nations commission to investigate the Soviet partisan attacks as war crimes. He had personally witnessed the aftermath of the raid on Seitajärvi and submitted evidence in the form of newspaper reports and photos of the victims. However, the request was rejected and the case was not pursued further.

Alakulppi won a gold medal in the 4 ×10 km cross-country relay at the 1939 FIS Nordic World Ski Championships in Zakopane.

Olavi Alakulppi

Pauli Pitkänen and Alakulppi (right) in Zakopane
Medal record
Men's cross-country skiing
Representing  Finland
World Championships
Gold medal – first place1939 Zakopane4 × 10 km relay

In literature

Alakulppi has been the focus of several books.

Finland's 2008 War Book of the Year was awarded to non-fiction author Kari Kallonen[8] for his work "Olavi Alakulppi, sissiluutnantti: Marskin ritari ja maailmanmestari."[9] Kallonen is a well respected military historian and author who also won the 2016 War Book of the Year for his work "Tähtilippu talvisodassa – Amerikan Suomalaisen Legioonan tuntematon tarina."[10][11]

Kallonen's 2008 book was translated into English in 2017 by Mika Roinila. The translation is entitled "Guerrilla Lieutenant – Olavi Alakulppi: Knight of the Mannerheim Cross and World Skiing Champion".[12]

Cross-country skiing results

World Championships

  • 1 medal – (1 gold)
 Year   Age   18 km   50 km   4 × 10 km 
 relay 
19382222——
193923——Gold

References

  1. ↑ He became one of the ex-Finnish officers associated with Colonel Alpo K. Marttinen, known as "The Marttinen Men". See: Gill III, Henry A. (1998). "Appendix II Aftermath: Marttinen's Men". Soldier Under Three Flags. Ventura, CA: Pathfinder Publishing. pp. 187–193. ISBN 0934793654. OCLC 38468782.
  2. ↑ "ALAKULPPI Olavi Eelis" (in Finnish). Knights Foundation of the Mannerheim Cross. Retrieved 27 December 2021.
  3. ↑ Kiiski, Timo (25 September 2021). "Olavi Alakulppi: uskomaton matka sotasankariksi". Iltalehti (in Finnish). Retrieved 27 December 2021.
  4. ↑ "Finnish Youth to West Point". The Manhattan Mercury. Manhattan, KS. June 17, 1959. p. 3. Retrieved August 15, 2022 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  5. ↑ "Hopewell Native Dies in Vietnam". The Progress-Index. Petersburg, VA. May 24, 1969. p. 11. Retrieved August 15, 2022 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  6. ↑ Vesa Alakulppi, CPT, Army, Seattle WA, 14May68 60E007 - The Virtual Wall
  7. ↑ Elviksen nahkatakki löytyi Sallasta, YLE Uutiset
  8. ↑ Kallonen, Kari (November 16, 2017). "Vuoden Sotakirjat". Sotasankari.fi.
  9. ↑ Kallonen, Kari (2008). Olavi Alakulppi, sissiluutnantti: Marskin ritari ja maailmanmestari. Tampere: Revontuli. ISBN 978-952-5170-93-1.
  10. ↑ Kallonen, Kari (November 16, 2017). "Tahtilippu Talvisodassa". Revontuli.net.
  11. ↑ Kallonen, Kari (November 16, 2017). "Vuoden Sotakirjat". Sotasankari.fi.
  12. ↑ Roinila, Mika (November 16, 2017). "Guerrilla Lieutenant". amazon.com. Archived from the original on 2018-01-31.
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