My mom found my grandfather's 7th Army Battalion book from 1954 and this was inside. (My grandfather is on the left representing the army.) He died when she was a teenager and never talked about his military career. We would really appreciate if anyone knew who this was or at least what he had around his neck.
Close-up: Imgur
This is an official US Army photograph.
The seal looks like Sweden's arms (three crowns). I looked up a lot of Swedish politicians on wiki and couldn't find him. He does look like a pre-war European politician.
Edit : Nils Swedlund does look a bit like him. He was supreme commander of Sweden's armed forces at the time. It would be weird of him to be dressed that way and not in uniform though.
If this was in the UK, the man with the chain would almost certainly be the mayor of a town or small city. He could be the president of a professional association or a service organisation who may also wear such chains, but the formal suit when others are not wearing one makes it seem more likely that he is a mayor.
The people do not look British. I do not know how widespread such "chains of office" are for mayors, beyond the UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Norway. Here is a picture of a Swedish mayor wearing his chain. Your picture would appear to be someone from a less rich town.
Does the presence of a sailor from the US Coast Guard make it more probable that this picture was taken in Canada? Although some did serve far from the US coast in WW2.
EDIT: It would seem that mayor's chains in Norway (and probably Sweden) are a post-war fashion.
