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Torsten Emanuel Stålnacke (31 December 1933 – 4 August 2012) was a Swedish
United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...
soldier and
Swedish Army The Swedish Army () is the army, land force of the Swedish Armed Forces of the Kingdom of Sweden. Beginning with its service in 1521, the Swedish Army has been active for more than 500 years. History Svea Life Guards dates back to the year 1 ...
'' överfurir'', mostly known for his actions during the
Congo Crisis The Congo Crisis () was a period of Crisis, political upheaval and war, conflict between 1960 and 1965 in the Republic of the Congo (Léopoldville), Republic of the Congo (today the Democratic Republic of the Congo). The crisis began almost ...
in 1961.


Early life

Stålnacke was born in
Svappavaara Svappavaara ( Meänkieli: ''Vaskivuori'') is a locality situated in Kiruna Municipality, Norrbotten County, Sweden with 417 inhabitants in 2010. It is a mining village. Mining was started around 1650. Large scale iron mining started in 1965. The ...
, Sweden and did his military service at
Norrbotten Regiment The Norrbotten Regiment (), designation I 19, is a Swedish Army arctic armoured, light infantry and commando regiment that traces its origins back to the 19th century. The regiment's soldiers were originally recruited from the province of Norrb ...
(I 19) in Boden.


UN service

He served with the rank of ''
furir Furir (from French '' fourrier'', a person responsible for the feed) is a Swedish military rank (OR5) reintroduced in 2019, after having been abolished in 2009. Duties The ''Furir'' is a Squad Leader at Skill Level B (Intermediate). Promotion fr ...
'' in the first two Swedish UN battalions in
Suez Suez (, , , ) is a Port#Seaport, seaport city with a population of about 800,000 in north-eastern Egypt, located on the north coast of the Gulf of Suez on the Red Sea, near the southern terminus of the Suez Canal. It is the capital and largest c ...
- Gaza from 1956 to 1957 as part of
UNEF UNEF may refer to: * United Nations Emergency Force, a UN force deployed in the Middle East in 1956 * UNEF, a designation for Extra-Fine thread series of Standard Unified Screw Threads (ANSI B1.1) * Union Nationale des Étudiants de France (Nation ...
. In Congo, he belonged to Battalion XIIK in 1961. Stålnacke became known during the
Congo Crisis The Congo Crisis () was a period of Crisis, political upheaval and war, conflict between 1960 and 1965 in the Republic of the Congo (Léopoldville), Republic of the Congo (today the Democratic Republic of the Congo). The crisis began almost ...
for his gallant conduct in action on 14 September 1961. While repelling a Gendarmerie armoured car attack on the refugee camp and their nearby depot, two of his comrades were shocked and Stålnacke advanced by himself against an enemy firing position, armed with a
Carl Gustav recoilless rifle The Carl Gustaf 84 mm recoilless rifle (, named after '' Carl Gustafs Stads Gevärsfaktori'', which initially produced it) is a Swedish-developed caliber shoulder-fired recoilless rifle, initially developed by the Royal Swedish Army Mate ...
. He disabled an enemy armoured car and a number of enemies. Stålnacke was then shot in the
jaw The jaws are a pair of opposable articulated structures at the entrance of the mouth, typically used for grasping and manipulating food. The term ''jaws'' is also broadly applied to the whole of the structures constituting the vault of the mouth ...
. His jaw was broken into pieces and his chin hung down to his chest. To stop himself from suffocating, he cleared bone fragments from his throat with his fingers and pulled his tongue up. While retreating under fire, Stålnacke held his chin up with one hand and held the recoilless rifle with the other. With hand gestures and kicks, he managed to get his two badly shocked comrades off the battlefield. Because of fighting around the
Italian Red Cross The Italian Red Cross (IRC, or ''CRI'') is the Italian national Red Cross society. The Italian Red Cross was one of the original founding members of the International Committee of the Red Cross in 1919. History Early history The present-day I ...
hospital in the centre of Élisabethville, the ambulance could not drive all the way to it. For the last hundred meters, Stålnacke and his comrades had to run to the hospital under the protection of the house walls. The Italian chief medical director, Giuseppe Cipolat, initiated the treatment of Stålnacke in Élisabethville and said to colonel
Jonas Wærn Carl Jonas Wærn (23 July 1915 – 6 November 2003) was a Swedish Army officer best known for having commanded Swedish, Irish, and Indian peacekeeping troops during the Congo Crisis. He also commanded Swedish forces in Cyprus in 1964. Wærn is on ...
, "I served as a field medic in
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, including the desert battles of
Tobruk Tobruk ( ; ; ) is a port city on Libya's eastern Mediterranean coast, near the border with Egypt. It is the capital of the Butnan District (formerly Tobruk District) and has a population of 120,000 (2011 est.)."Tobruk" (history), ''Encyclop� ...
, and have taken care of wounded soldiers from many countries but I have never met a soldier who showed such courage and willpower as Torsten Stålnacke did." Stålnacke was awarded the
Vasa Medal Vasa Medal (, VGM/SM) Is a Swedish medal, awarded for general civil virtues. It was established by King Oscar II of Sweden in 1895. It was given in gold and silver in 8th and 5th sizes. It ceased to be awarded in 1974. Torsten Stålnacke and S ...
on 10 May 1962 for gallantry. By spring of 1963, Stålnacke underwent 18 surgical operations. Although he never fully recovered, he served in the
United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus United may refer to: Places * United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community Arts and entertainment Films * ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film * ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two f ...
from 1965 to 1968. In total, he underwent 33 operations for his injuries at the
Karolinska Hospital The Karolinska University Hospital () is a teaching hospital affiliated with Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, Sweden, with two major sites in the municipalities of Solna and Huddinge. The hospital network is the second largest in Sweden, after ...
in
Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...
.


Later life

After Stålnacke's time in the military, he ran a tavern in
Helsingborg Helsingborg (, , ), is a Urban areas in Sweden, city and the seat of Helsingborg Municipality, Scania County, Scania (Skåne), Sweden. It is the second-largest city in Scania (after Malmö) and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, ninth ...
until 1972 when he bought the
pension A pension (; ) is a fund into which amounts are paid regularly during an individual's working career, and from which periodic payments are made to support the person's retirement from work. A pension may be either a " defined benefit plan", wh ...
''Pelikanen'' in
Sälen Sälen () is a locality situated in Malung-Sälen Municipality, Dalarna County, Sweden with 652 inhabitants in 2010. Despite its small population, Sälen receives many tourists every winter. Sälen is best known for hosting the start of Vasal ...
which he ran until his retirement in 2003. On 29 May 2012, on the Swedish Veterans Day, he was awarded with the Swedish Armed Forces Medal for Wounded in Battle because of the injuries he sustained in the battle in Congo on 14 September 1961.


Personal life

Stålnacke lived with his partner Marianne and had a daughter, Susanne. His biggest interests included berry picking, fishing and hunting.


Death

Stålnacke died in his home on 4 August 2012 and was buried on 24 August in Svappavaara cemetery.


Awards and decorations

*
Vasa Medal Vasa Medal (, VGM/SM) Is a Swedish medal, awarded for general civil virtues. It was established by King Oscar II of Sweden in 1895. It was given in gold and silver in 8th and 5th sizes. It ceased to be awarded in 1974. Torsten Stålnacke and S ...
(10 May 1962) * Swedish Armed Forces Medal for Wounded in Battle, 8th size in silver (29 May 2012) * United Nations Emergency Force Medal (
UNEF UNEF may refer to: * United Nations Emergency Force, a UN force deployed in the Middle East in 1956 * UNEF, a designation for Extra-Fine thread series of Standard Unified Screw Threads (ANSI B1.1) * Union Nationale des Étudiants de France (Nation ...
) *
United Nations Medal A United Nations Medal is an international decoration awarded by the United Nations (UN) to the various world countries members for participation in joint international military and police operations such as peacekeeping, humanitarian efforts, a ...
(
ONUC The United Nations Operation in the Congo (, abbreviated ONUC) was a United Nations peacekeeping force which was deployed in the Republic of the Congo in 1960 in response to the Congo Crisis. The ONUC was the UN's first peacekeeping mission wi ...
) *
United Nations Medal A United Nations Medal is an international decoration awarded by the United Nations (UN) to the various world countries members for participation in joint international military and police operations such as peacekeeping, humanitarian efforts, a ...
( UNFICYP)


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stalnacke, Torsten 1933 births 2012 deaths Swedish Army soldiers People from Kiruna Municipality People of the Congo Crisis