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On 28.3. the main battle was over. The main attack came from the west side of the island (describes the operation on the map). A smaller detachment came from the east side drawing attention away from the main attack. There was a ship stuck in ice in the harbor. It served as a quarters to the men and the ship had a strong defense. That group was destroyed from this hill. I talked to one guerilla Lieutenant who led one group here and he told me about these engagements.
After Suursaari was taken 28.3. we were told that Pajari would organize a parade in the harbor area of Suurkylä. All troops from Suursaari battle were grouped there and we went to cover them with all our planes. Lieutenant Nurminen led the first six Curtisses, I led the other six. Nurminen was at about 3500 meters over Suursaari and I was below him. I flew over Pajari's booth as he was speaking. You tend to notice the noise Curtiss makes as it flies directly overhead. As I was turning we heard that 29 enemy fighters were approaching from south in three groups. Nurminen was already heading to Suulajärvi but he turned back. Over Suursaari and east and southeast side they (Russians) started to turn in Spanish wheel (Lufbery circle) and the fight went on for about twenty- thirty minutes. We shot down 23 planes and none of us saw Russians fire any shots. (Editor's note: This seems to be exaggeration, all Curtisses had received hits, although with only minor damage. Source: Finland's Aviation Historical Magazine issue 3/1994).
When we discussed the incident later, we came to a conclusion that these had been young boys who had just came here and were overwhelmed and in real trouble. But those guys who had been on Karelian Isthmus front, they were top class fighter pilots. They had probably acquired their skills while fighting against the Germans. They were in a totally different class from these guys we fought in Suursaari.
By the way, there was a Finnish Broadcasting Company radio reporter in Suursaari. He did a live broadcast from the parade and my wife happened to be sitting by the radio at home with our first-born child, a little over one month old daughter on her lap. She was listening to the program from Suursaari and the aerial battle. They kept saying "and another plane fell, and a plane fell again" but they didn't say if they were enemy planes or ours. My wife thought that probably the Finns were staying in the sky while the Russians didn't. The army reported that they had counted 27 kills but the count in the official report was 23. I flew there with sergeant Tähti the next day and there were 23 wreck piles on the ice. By the way, Veikko Lavi has recorded a song about this Suursaari battle and you can buy that on C-cassette named "The guilty and the innocent". The song ends like this: "The parade was held on ice. The men could also witness it, pilots above Suursaari, crowned the conquest. 27 planes went to their death, the red star fell, leaving only a hole in ice."
