Tauno Ilmoniemi

Tauno Ilmoniemi, born under the name Granit, changed his name in 1906. He graduated from the lyceum in Kuopio in 1912. In the same year, he competed in two sports at the Stockholm Olympics: in gymnastics, he won silver as a member of the Finnish team in the free system all-around; in the plain high diving, he was eliminated in round one. Ilmoniemi studied at the department for mechanical engineering of the University of Technology from 1912-15. As a volunteer, he then joined the Prussian 27th Jäger Battalion, where he was transferred to the reinforcement unit. Ilmoniemi served as a recruiter in Puolanka in Eastern Finland under the alias Möttönen. In 1917, he was in Germany with his battalion for further training and completed special courses in Polangen (now Palanga in Lithuania), where he was also engaged in the fighting at the Eastern Front.

Ilmoniemi returned to Finland in January 1918 and joined the Perä-Pohjola Guard Corps, with which he fought in various battles for the White Army in the Civil War. Some months later, he was transferred to Kuolajärvi Battalion and was involved in various military operations. In April 1918, he was appointed chief of staff of the Salla Regiment. After the Civil War, Ilmoniemi held various high positions in the military administration until he was seconded to the Ministry of the Interior in 1919 as commander of the Kainuu Border Guard in Eastern Finland. In this position, he was the Finnish chairman of a Finnish-Russian joint committee monitoring the armistice between the USSR and Finland.

After completing a senior officer course, Ilmoniemi was transferred to the Central Finland Regiment as commander of its 3rd Battalion in 1923. In the following year, he became head of the personnel office of the military staff. During the next years, he was appointed commander of the 1st Bicycle Battalion in 1926, of the North Savo Regiment in 1928 and of the North Ostrobothnia Military District.

Tauno Ilmoniemi married Sylvi Irene Koskimies (Forsman) in 1926. They remained childless. He died of a heart attack at the age of 41.