190) Joachim Rønneberg
Commander of Operation Gunnerside during World War II
Born: 30 August 1919, Ålesund, Norway
Died: 21 October 2018, Norway
Norwegian Army Officer and commander of Operation Gunnerside—which helped sabotage Nazi plans for building atomic weapons.
The entire operation was all Norwegian soldiers, ten in all. They were parachuted in in the middle of the February Cold of 1943.
After marching through the wilderness for several days and nights, they made it to a factory where the Germans were working on their atomic bomb. Joachim and the others blew the factory up and escaped back into the night. He later blew up a railway bridge and disrupted supply lines.
He worked as a radio journalist after the war. Joachim married and had three children, all of whom survive him.
In 1965, a Hollywood film that was vaguely based on the true story was released. It was called The Heroes of Telemark and starred Kirk Douglas and Richard Harris.
Badges Earned:
Find a Grave Marked
Sources:
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/22/obituaries/joachim-ronneberg-dead.html
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/oct/29/joachim-ronneberg-obituary
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/194168533/joachim-holmboe-ronneberg