Finnish Forces

Lieutenant Leskinen

Uomala / SA-kuva 134935

Knight of the Mannerheim Cross, Lieutenant Kullervo Leskinen. Uhtua,12.8.43. He was born 1920, joined civil guard in 1935 and started military service during the Winter War. He was then platoon leader in 3rd Division 1941-44, specialized in guerilla warfare and long range reconnaissance. By the time he was awarded the Mannerheim Cross in June 1943, he had travelled estimately 5000 kilometers during some 100 different patrols behind enemy lines. As"homework" he occupied outpost in remote wilderness near Uhtua, fighting enemy troops on almost daily basis. In one 3 hour clash with larger enemy group, his unit killed 50 soldiers and took 10 prisoners, two of them officers. Only casualty was one man slightly wounded. In 1944, Lieutenant Leskinen was wounded at VKT-line near Viipuri, but returned to take part in Lapland War before being demobilized in November. After the war he worked as a clerk until his early death in 1958. He died from a sudden heart attack while asleep.