The White Death.
This is Lt. Simo Häyhä of Finland. Aka the “White Death”. He’s the one of the greatest badasses of all time.
Up to and preceding the war, Haya was a farmer and hunter and a pretty good shot.
Turns out, during the Winter War (1939-1940 between Finland and the Soviet Union, he singlehandedly sniped 505 Soviet soldiers in -40 to -20 degrees Celsius weather (even though there are 542 unconfirmed deaths, and his kill total is actually closer to 800. Holy crap that’s a lot of guys.)
Haya used a Finnish version of the M-28, because it was a small rifle, and he was a small guy. He dressed in all white to avoid being scene, and used the ironsights to keep a lower profile. He even chewed snow to keep his breath from fogging and being noticable. What a good idea. Damn.
The Soviets tried counter-snipers and artillery strikes (and close to 800 men) to try and stop Haya. Eventually he got shot in the jaw by a soldier. That’s why his face is all messed up in the picture. He lived. No surprise there- he’s an epic badass.
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.”
Cool.
