Alakulppi won a gold medal in the 4 x 10 km cross-country relay at the 1939 FIS Nordic World Ski Championships in Zakopane.
Alakulppi served in the Finnish Army during the Winter and Continuation Wars. In 1942 he was awarded the Mannerheim Cross.
In 1945, in order to evade prosecution for his involvement in the Weapons Cache Case, he skied to Sweden and arranged for his wife Eevi, their son Vesa, and him to travel to the United States where he soon joined the United States Army. Vesa Alakulppi eventually followed his father into the army and was killed in action during the Vietnam War.
Olavi Alakulppi retired from the US Army in 1968 as lieutenant-colonel. He died in 1990, and is buried in the Arlington National Cemetery.
Alakulppi won a gold medal in the 4 x 10 km cross-country relay at the 1939 FIS Nordic World Ski Championships in Zakopane.
Alakulppi served in the Finnish Army during the Winter and Continuation Wars. In 1942 he was awarded the Mannerheim Cross.
In 1945, in order to evade prosecution for his involvement in the Weapons Cache Case, he skied to Sweden and arranged for his wife Eevi, their son Vesa, and him to travel to the United States where he soon joined the United States Army. Vesa Alakulppi eventually followed his father into the army and was killed in action during the Vietnam War.
Olavi Alakulppi retired from the US Army in 1968 as lieutenant-colonel. He died in 1990, and is buried in the Arlington National Cemetery.
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