Editing Mannerheim Cross (section)

==Knights of the Mannerheim Cross==
{{main|List of Mannerheim Cross recipients}}
[[File:Mannerheim jakaa ansiomerkkejä.jpg|thumb|[[Marshal Mannerheim]] hands the Mannerheim Cross to cadet [[Yrjö Keinonen]] in September 1942.]]
The Mannerheim Cross 2nd Class has been awarded to 191 persons. The first cross was awarded to [[Colonel]] [[Ruben Lagus]] on 22 July 1941.{{sfn|Hurmerinta|Viitanen|1994|pp=13–17}} The first [[Private (rank)|private]] to be awarded the cross was [[Vilho Rättö]], who was awarded his cross on 3 August 1941 for destroying four enemy tanks with a sightless anti-tank gun taken from the enemy, by aiming the gun through its bore.{{sfn|Hurmerinta|Viitanen|1994|p=13}}{{sfn|Hurmerinta|Viitanen|1994|p=352}} The last cross was awarded to [[Lieutenant Colonel]] {{ill|Viljo Laakso|fi}} on 7 May 1945.{{sfn|Hurmerinta|Viitanen|1994|p=17}}

A total of four persons have been awarded the Mannerheim Cross 2nd Class twice. Both [[General Major]] [[Aaro Pajari]] and Colonel [[Martti Aho]] received their second crosses on 16 October 1944. They were followed by ''[[sotilasmestari|Lentomestari]]'' [[Ilmari Juutilainen]] and [[Captain]] [[Hans Wind]], who both received their second awards on 26 June 1944.{{sfn|Hurmerinta|Viitanen|1994|p=17}} These double-awardees were given a small clasp, consisting of two crossed [[marshal's baton]]s, to be worn above the cross.{{sfn|Hurmerinta|Viitanen|1994|p=10}}

The first recipient of the Mannerheim Cross 1st Class was its namesake, [[Field Marshal (Finland)|Field Marshal]] [[Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim|C. G. E. Mannerheim]], who accepted it together with a Mannerheim Cross 2nd Class from President of the Republic [[Risto Ryti]] on 7 October 1941 after all the previous awardees had requested him to accept the award.{{sfn|Hurmerinta|Viitanen|1994|p=10}} The only other recipient of the Mannerheim Cross 1st Class is [[General of the branch|General of Infantry]] [[Erik Heinrichs]], who received it on 31 December 1944,{{sfn|Åkerblom|1959}}{{sfn|Hurmerinta|Viitanen|1994|p=13}} following an earlier Mannerheim Cross 2nd Class on 5 February 1942.{{sfn|Hurmerinta|Viitanen|1994|p=74}}

The awardees of the Mannerheim Cross were predominately young, with 72 % of the awardees being 35 years of age or younger. Only 7 of the recipients were 51 or older, with the oldest recipient being Mannerheim himself. The crosses were awarded primarily to personnel from the army, with 159 recipients in the infantry. Five crosses were awarded to navy personnel, and a further 19 to air force personnel.{{sfn|Hurmerinta|Viitanen|1994|pp=453–454}} Crosses were rarely awarded posthumously, with only six citations noting that the award was posthumous.{{sfn|Hurmerinta|Viitanen|1994|p=21}}

Starting from the presidency of [[Martti Ahtisaari]], all surviving recipients of the Mannerheim Cross were invited annually on 6 December to Finland's [[Independence Day Reception (Finland)|Independence Day Reception]]. By tradition they were the first guests to enter and greet the president.{{sfn|Kivimäki|Strömberg|2020}}{{sfn|Huhtanen|2020}}

[[Tuomas Gerdt]], the last living Knight of the Mannerheim Cross, died on 1 November 2020.{{sfn|Kivimäki|Strömberg|2020}}