World War II Military Figure. He was a Finnish military sniper who is believed to have killed over 500 men during the 1939 to 1940 Winter War against the Soviet Union, the highest number of sniper kills in any major war. To accomplish this task, he used a Finnish-produced M/28-30 rifle, a variant of the Mosin–Nagant rifle, and a Suomi KP/-31 submachine gun. His unit's Captain Antti Rantamaa credited him with 259 confirmed kills by sniper rifle and an equal number of kills by submachine gun during the Winter War. Later in his book, Rantamaa credited Häyhä with 542 sniper kills. Häyhä never talked about it publicly but estimated in his private war-time diary that he shot around 500. His war memoir, "Sotamuistoja," was written in 1940 yet was not discovered until 2017. Born the seventh of eight children of a Lutheran Finnish farmer, he was educated locally before becoming a farmer, hunter, and skier prior to his military service. He had excellent marksmanship early but obtained sniper training after being drafted for 15 months in the military. On March 6, 1940, he was severely wounded after an explosive bullet was fired by a Red Army soldier hit his lower left jaw, leaving him with permanent facial disfigurement. At first, he was reported dead, and after reading his obituary, he wrote a correction to be printed in the newspaper. Although he requested to continue his military service, he was given a medical discharge. He was awarded the First and the Second Class Medals of Liberty and the Third and the Fourth Class Crosses of Liberty, which are usually awarded only to officers. Although only officers can receive the award, he was nominated for The Mannerheim Cross, which is the highest Finnish military medal. He received the Kollaa fighters' medal, the silver version of the Cross of Kollaa Battle, number 4. He said he did what he had to do, and if he had not done so, there would be no Finland. A 2022 film, "Sisu," was an adaption of his military life, and he is ranked among the top 100 Finnish heroes.