Simo Hayha

Simo in his winter camo with his SAKO M/28-30Rifle (http://www.simohayha.com/ (Finnish Military Archives))

A hero is someone who is courageous and willing to stand strong for what he believes in against any opposing force. The name that I think of when I hear the word hero is Simo Hayha, a Finnish war hero. Simo is a hero because he put his life on the line every day to defend his country. He and his country were greatly outnumbered, yet he still stood strong, and at the end of the day he prevailed. Personally I've wanted to be someone like Simo. Ever since I was a kid I've wanted to join the military. A sniper is one of the jobs I've wanted ever since I learned about who they were and what they did. Simo even had religious ties to his actions. Whether or not he was religious he impacted Finland's religion. Simo defended Finland from the Soviets, who had no religion, which is something we should keep and grow. For religion helps keep the peace in society. To be a hero one must be loyal, strong, courageous, willing to endure pain in order to prevail, and willing to stand up for someone or something when no one else will. Simo did all of these things. He was loyal to his country of Finland, even when he was faced with overwhelming forces. He was strong and did not quit and kept fighting. He even took a bullet to the head and lived. Courage is something Simo was strong in. He was hunted down by counter-snipers and artillery strikes. He faced overwhelming odds of Soviets who outnumbered the Finnish people by 3 times the men, 150 times more tanks, and 34 times the aircraft. He endured struggles but always prevailed. One example is that he would place ice and snow in his mouth to keep his breath from misting in the extreme cold. This may not seem like much but by doing this he risked damage to his head and mouth from frostbite. He stood up for his country and against the odds; he prevailed along with his country.

Simo after getting shot and aiming with his rifle (http://www.simohayha.com/ (Finnish Military Archives))

Biography Simo Hayha was born in 1905 in Finland which at the time was a part of the Russian Empire. Before his military service, he in spent time as a farmer, hunter, and a skilled marksman who competed in shooting for sport. At age twenty, in 1925, he joined the Finnish military. Later on during the Winter War (1939-1940) he fought against the Soviets and was viewed as a feared sniper along the border. He served in temperatures of about -40F to -20F. He was dressed in all white winter camouflage. Within a 100 day span he had a confirmed 542 kill count of Soviet soldiers. This meant he averaged about 5 kills a day. To protect his country and its people, he endured struggles to defend them. He didn't use a scope to ensure he was as accurate and precise as possible (the extreme cold temperatures would fog up the lens of the scopes), no scope also ensured that he wouldn't reveal his position from glares caused by the sun. He would hold snow in his mouth as to not make mist when he breathed. He was hunted down by Soviet counter-snipers and artillery strikes both of which failed. On one occasion he was shot in the face by a Soviet counter sniper with an explosive bullet. The bullet impacted on his lower jaw, tearing apart half his face. Despite this he survived the wound. He later died on April 1, 2002 in his country of Finland. He showed courage taking on a large number of enemies. The overwhelming odds were so large that at one point only 32 Finnish troops faced 4,000 Soviets. He worked alone some days and was loyal to his country and his people. Simo Hayha was a true hero especially to Finland and its people.