Mannerheim Knight Gerdt passes away

Tuomas Gerdt, the last of the Finnish war veterans who received the Knighthood of the Mannerheim Cross died in Helsinki on Sunday morning, said the Finnish Defence Forces in a press release.

He was 98.

His death was announced by the Knights of the Mannerheim Cross Foundation.

The Mannerheim Cross title was given in two categories – First class and Second Class. Only two war veterans were awarded the first class. They are General Erik Heinrichs, Chief of the General Staff during the War, and Field Marshal C. G. E. Mannerheim, who later became the president.

A total of 191 received the Mannerheim Cross 2nd Class for their extra-ordinary contribution during the Continuation War against the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR).

Gerdt was born at Heinävesi in South Savo in 1922 and joined the Winter War when he was 17 years old.

Later, the war veteran served as a non-commissioned officer for combat messaging in the Seventh Infantry Regiment during the war, a late phase of the Second World War against the Soviet Union in 1941-44.

He was awarded the prestigious Mannerheim Cross, 2nd Class in September 1942 for his heroic performance during the fight on the Karelian Isthmus the earlier summer.

Gerdt was promoted to captaincy later and he also worked in the forest industry.

The surviving Knights were traditionally the first guests to be greeted by the president at the Independence Day reception party since the 1990s.