It is now ten years since his death on April 1, 2002, and this man is still little known in this country except among military and military historians. He should be better known considering the absolutely staggering numbers he racked up. He fought to keep his native Finland free of the Russian Bear, and became a world class commie-killer.
Simo Häyhä (December 17, 1905 – April 1, 2002), nicknamed "White Death" by the Red Army, was a Finnish sniper. Using a modified Mosin–Nagant in the Winter War, he has the highest recorded number of confirmed sniper kills — 505 — in any major war.[2] Häyhä was also credited with over 200 kills with a Suomi KP/-31 submachine gun,[3] for a total of 705 confirmed kills.
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The Soviets tried several ploys to get rid of him, including counter-snipers and artillery strikes. On March 6, 1940, Häyhä was shot in the lower left jaw by a Russian soldier during combat. The bullet tumbled upon impact and exited his head. He was picked up by fellow soldiers who said "half his head was missing", but he was not dead: he regained consciousness on March 13, the day peace was declared. Shortly after the war Häyhä was promoted from alikersantti (corporal) extraordinarily to Vänrikki (Second Lieutenant) by Field Marshal Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim; no one else has gained rank so quickly in Finland's military history.
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It took several years for Häyhä to recuperate from his wound. The bullet had crushed his jaw and blown off his left cheek. Nonetheless, he made a full recovery and became a successful moose hunter and dog breeder after World War II, and hunted with Finnish president Urho Kekkonen.
When asked in 1998 how he had become such a good shooter, he answered, "practice." When asked if he regretted killing so many people, he said "I did what I was told to as well as I could."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simo_H%C3%A4yh%C3%A4RIP, White Death!
