Chapter 185
< World War II - The Price of Freedom (2) >
April 11, 1941
Helsinki, the capital of Finland
Amidst the firing of a gun salute to express condolences, a procession of mourners continued to the funeral of President Kyösti Kallio.
President Kallio had sent statements of support for my speech a few times, but to me, he was a man I had met for only a single day.
From that one-day meeting and the atmosphere of the funeral alone, I could tell what kind of person he had been.
A president who had led the fight against an enemy nation whose difference in strength was so vast that even the word "absolute" was insufficient, only to die as if falling asleep after burning everything he had.
To him, the countless people who fell to protect Finland must not have been mere numbers.
As much as me, no, even more so than me.