Capt. Väinö Mikkola established the Sortavala Air Station and was the first commander. First Finnish military pilot’s wings no 1/17.9.1918. Mikkola died on the 7th of September 1920 together with Lieutenant Leijer and Ensign Durchman when their Italian flying boats crashed in the Alps during a transfer flight to Finland. This date is now the annual Finnish Air Force memorial day