Kalervo Kurkiala | |
|---|---|
 Major Kalervo Kurkiala (left) Finnish SS battalion, a military liaison officer at his side, Hietaniemi cemetery, 19 September 1943 | |
| Born | Kalervo Groundstroem 16 November 1894 |
| Died | 26 December 1966 (aged 72) |
| Nationality | Finnish |
| Occupation(s) | Military chaplain, Pastor |
Kalervo Kurkiala (born Kalervo Groundstroem, 16 November 1894 – 26 December 1966) was a Finnish soldier who later became a pastor. During World War I, he served as a volunteer in the German light infantry, his first engagement being on the Misa River in Latvia on the eastern front in 1916. He was a battalion commander in the White Army during the Finnish Civil War, which broke out in 1918. After being ordained in 1919, for a while he was an army chaplain before assuming civilian duties as a pastor and teacher. For several years, he served with the Seamen's mission in Australia. During World War II, in 1941, Kurkiala volunteered as chaplain to the Finnish volunteer brigade in the Waffen-SS. After the war, for many years, he was a pastor in Sweden.