Jouko Paavo Olli Kiiskinen

Jouko Paavo Olli Kiiskinen, born 21 November 1918 in Rantasalmi, died 30 December 1985 in Espoo, was a Finnish soldier and Knight of the Mannerheim Cross number 186. Captain Kiiskinen was made a Knight of the Mannerheim Cross on 10 February 1945. He later made a career as a government official.

Jouko Kiiskinen, son of the municipal councilor in Rantasalmi, graduated in 1936. During the winter war, Kiiskinen served in Nyslott's protection corps district staff as bureau officer and platoon leader in bicycle battalion 6. At the beginning of the Continuation War, after the battle of Tyrjä on August 8, 1941, lieutenant Jouko Kiiskinen was given command of it third company in I/JR 7, a role he successfully held until he was wounded. After Lt. Kiiskinen took command of the company (having previously lost no less than five company commanders within a few hours and was close to being disbanded) he was able to quickly mold it into a first-rate combat unit, often serving as JR 7's so-called "combat unit ". as a cutting-edge company. During the 1941 offensive, Lieutenant J. Kiiskinen persuaded over 300 opponents to surrender by giving a speech in Russian to the troops about to break out.

During the great offensive on the Isthmus in 1944, Captain J. Kiiskinen's company acted several times successfully, for example in counterattacks and defenses, even in situations where the Red Army's tanks had managed to avoid the rear of the company.

In justifying the knighthood, the commander of the 2nd Division, A.E. Martola, among other things, that Captain Kiiskinen, having received wounds in both legs, calmly reported the incident to his superior, but continued to lead his company until the critical phase of the battle had passed and he could leave for the treatment he needed.

After the war, Kiiskinen served as an official at the staff of the military districts in Kotka and Helsinki and most recently at the General Staff 1950–1955. He later moved on to a civilian career as a civil servant. In the years 1955–1963 Kiiskinen worked as a civil servant at the Ministry of Finance, 1963–1965 as head of the organizational body at the Ministry of Traffic and Transport and as director of the car registration center 1966–1981.

Mannerheim-ristin ritari 186

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