HELSINKI (Dagbladet): In silence, they have returned. Nightmares and trauma have once again become the everyday life of many of Finland’s war veterans.
Almost 5,000 of them are still alive.
Now they see Ukrainian soldiers experiencing the same thing they did 80 years ago. War. Disorder. Death.
95-year-old Erkki Merikallio has been there herself. Hosted at the front. Fought for the freedom of his country.
For 680 days he fought against Soviet forces during World War II. He said he was 17 years old. Actually, he was only 15 and too young to be drafted by the military.
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He lied to get the opportunity to fight for Finland’s freedom.
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With the struggle against the Soviet superpower also came painful losses.
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Losses and memories he has never managed to forget.
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– I was young. Too young. But I wanted to fight for Finland. When I got to the front and joined the squad, I was asked where I came from. When I told them, they asked if I knew anyone else from the same place. I lit up. It was my big brother. Then came the message. He had been killed two days earlier. He was only 19 years old. It is one of the memories I will never get rid of, says Merikallio.
The only solution
He has never regretted that he enlisted and fought for Finland. Now he is following the situation in Ukraine closely. Every day he reads newspapers and follows the news broadcasts on TV.
He has seen before the pictures of young soldiers fighting for their country. Not just on screen. He was one of them.
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– If you are strong enough to carry a rifle, then you are strong enough to fight for your country. Everyone wanted to do what they could to defend Finland 80 years ago. This is the same attitude I see in the Ukrainians now. I’m worried about the civilians and how they are doing. But fighting Putin is the only acceptable response to the attack, the veteran said.
An unpredictable neighbor
Until February 24, he was sure that the Russian president was only trying to intimidate Ukraine. During his 95 years of life, Merikallio has seen many wars start and end in the world.
– But that there would be a war so close again in my lifetime, came as a huge surprise. I did not think this would happen. I had become accustomed to living in peacetime, says the war veteran.
Polina killed in Kyiv
Brutal and completely unacceptable. This is how he describes the neighboring country’s attacks and invasion.
He’s seen it before. The prelude to the outbreak of the Winter War in the winter of 1939 and the war in Ukraine have several similarities.
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All over Ukraine, young soldiers are getting ready to fight the battle of their lives.
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Children dig trenches.
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While parents bury their children.
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Those who can still fight, charge their weapons. Just like Merikallio himself did 80 years ago.
– What I see has brought back memories of the war. For my part, it has gone well mentally, but I know that this is not the case for everyone, says the 95-year-old.
Just before Christmas, when Russian forces began their exercises, he began to pay extra attention to the news from the east. The signals indicated that something was not right. Something big was about to happen.
– Our neighbor to the east is very unpredictable, says the war veteran.
Leaving Russia: – Brewing up to panic
– Every day is a victory
When the Winter War broke out in 1939, the Soviet Union claimed that Finland had started the attack. In the same way that the Finns were blamed at the time, he now sees Russia blaming Ukraine.
The veteran has been impressed by the Ukrainian opposition.
Now he wants to give a message to those who are fighting for their lives and for freedom.
– My thoughts are with the Ukrainians, and how well they have withstood the attacks. As long as they manage to keep the fighting spirit up, they will do well. Please, persevere, says Merikallio.
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– They must continue to fight. Keep fighting.
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Every day that passes is to their advantage.
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Every day they hold back the Russians is a victory.
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Many have questioned Putin’s mental state since the attacks began. The veteran is unsure of what is happening. Whether the Russian president actually understands what he is doing.
At the same time, he is now asking his own home country to take a step they have been discussing for decades should be taken.
– It is possible that Finland will be more involved in the war, as unpredictable as Russia is now. We were to become members of NATO as early as the early 1990s. Now we have to become a member. The only thing we can do is turn to the West. Stop talking, start acting, and let’s stand together against tyranny, says Merikallio.
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