August 30, 1919 - October 21, 2018 (aged 99)
![[ img ]](http://holdsworthtrust.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/ronneberg_joachim.jpg)
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"Unveiling ceremony of the Joachim Rønneberg-Monument"
The famous war veteran "ensign" (lieutenant) Joachim Rønneberg has past away.
He was a Norwegian resistance man that was in the years 1941-1945 member of Company Linge. He is most famous to have been the leader under the heavy water mission on Vemork in february 1943.
He also lead the operation "Gunnerside" in the field, a sabotation mission that are described as one of the most successful mission during WW2
He have received following medals:
- War Cross with Sword (Norwegian medal, only 290 have been awarded (26 posthumous)) rank 1
- St. Olav's medal With Oak Branch (Norwegian) rank 6
- Armed Forces "honor" cross (a new Norwegian medal of 2012) rank 19
- "WW2"Participant medal (Norway) rank 23
- Home Guard Medal of Merit (Norway) rank 24
- Haakon VII's 70th Medal (Norway) rank 33
- Distinguished Service Order (British) Rank "High"
- medal of freedom with with silver palm (USA)
- Légion d'honneur (Legion of Honor) (France)
- Croix de guerre (France)
- Aalesund municipality's honorary award
Operation:
- Heavy water action (Swallow/Gunnerside), blowing up heavy water production on Vemork and Rjukan, leader as a 23 year old
- 14 days on skies to get to Sweden after the action.
- living in the mountains with almost no food for a long period of time
- perform the operation without firing a single shoot.
- described the operation as: " we just did a job..."
- Operation Fieldfare
- operation was to prepare an attack on German supply lines
- blowing up a railway bridge
- dropped by parachute
- stayed in and around a mountain for a year without getting detected, (in the start they lived in a power company construction hut, before they had to move)
- operation to stay behind enemy lines, in case there was going to be an invasion by allied forces on Norwegian ground
- in december 1944, they was tasked to slow down or stopp tropp transport to the westfront, from Norway.