Ilmari Koppinen

Prepared by the Witnesses of War team

Ilmari Koppinen was born on 8 January 1918 in Rauma, Finland, just a month after the country declared independence. Orphaned by the age of twelve, he found companionship in scouting and sport. In summer 1939, he began military service at Niikkana fortress in the Valamo archipelago, subsequently serving aboard the coastal defence ship Ilmarinen.

When the Winter War began on 30 November 1939, Koppinen was a corporal training naval recruits at Suomenlinna, outside Helsinki. He witnessed Soviet aircraft bombing the capital and recalled his men firing their rifles at the aircraft. He subsequently attended naval reserve officer training, completing the course in May 1940.

During the Continuation War, he transferred from coastal defence duties to Border Jaeger Battalion 6 (Rajajääkäripataljoona 6), serving with the 14th Division on the Rukajärvi front. In January 1942, he commanded a platoon during a major raid against the Murmansk railway, an important Soviet supply route. His men provided security while engineers demolished railway tracks, before withdrawing on skis through deep snow and extreme cold. He later led reconnaissance patrols and commanded the forward outpost known as “Sauna.”

From May 1943 until November 1944, Koppinen served in the Finnish headquarters’ transport platoon under General Aksel Airo. After the war, he became a surveying engineer, Salo’s municipal geodesist and an associate professor at the Helsinki University of Technology. He also achieved international success in masters athletics, winning twelve world championship medals and setting an age-group world record in the 300-metre hurdles.