Reidar Kvaal MC (14 February 1916 – 17 June 2016) was a Norwegian military officer. He was born in

Stjørdal Stjørdal () or is a municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. It is part of the Stjørdalen region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Stjørdal, also called Stjørdalshalsen. Some of the villages in the municipalit ...

to farmer Ottar Kvaal and Guri Gjære. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

he was a member of

Kompani Linge Norwegian Independent Company 1 (NOR.I.C.1, pronounced ''Norisén'' (approx. "noor-ee-sehn") in Norwegian) was a British Special Operations Executive (SOE) group formed in March 1941 originally for the purpose of performing commando raids during ...

. He led Operation Lapwing, a group of commandos who were paradropped in the mountains of

Haltdalen Haltdalen is a village in Holtålen municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. The village is located along the river Gaula, about northwest of the village of Renbygda and about southwest of the village of Aunegrenda. The village of Haltdale ...

in 1943 and operated within

occupied territory Military occupation, also known as belligerent occupation or simply occupation, is the effective military control by a ruling power over a territory that is outside of that power's sovereign territory.Eyāl Benveniśtî. The international law ...

. He was decorated with the St. Olav's Medal with Oak Branch and the British

Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level pre-1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth countries. The MC i ...

. He ended his military career as Lieutenant General in the

Norwegian Army The Norwegian Army ( no, Hæren) is the land warfare service branch of the Norwegian Armed Forces. The Army is the oldest of the Norwegian service branches, established as a modern military organization under the command of the King of Norway ...

. He was decorated Commander of the

Order of St. Olav The Royal Norwegian Order of Saint Olav ( no, Den Kongelige Norske Sankt Olavs Orden; or ''Sanct Olafs Orden'', the old Norwegian name) is a Norwegian order of chivalry instituted by King Oscar I on 21 August 1847. It is named after King Olav II ...

in 1972.

References

1916 births 2016 deaths People from Stjørdal Norwegian Army personnel of World War II Norwegian Army generals Norwegian expatriates in the United Kingdom Norwegian Special Operations Executive personnel Recipients of the Military Cross Recipients of the St. Olav's Medal with Oak Branch Norwegian centenarians Men centenarians {{norway-mil-bio-stub