So I just barely learned that my grandfather, who passed away long before I was born, was in the 91st Chemical Mortar Batallion in World War II.
So I learned this when we were going through my grandmothers house and found a hidden box full of all his military papers and lots of army photos. I found a few pages on the internet that detail the unit's progress through Europe, landed on Omaha beach on D-Day (although after the beach was secured), fought the Battle of Ardennes (Battle of the Bulge), pushed the Germans back to the Rhine river in the Battle of the Rhineland, and so forth. According to the internet, 117 days of combat. Who knew. My family looks at my grandfather as a bit of a worthless drunk, but I suspect he probably had some pretty serious PTSD based on stories my dad tells.
But anyway, my questions are, I was hoping maybe some people here could maybe provide me some information about some of these pics, like what does MG on his helmet stand for? Can anyone identify the vehicle he's leaning against? Maybe the Gruner Baum fountain. I couldn't figure it out. But any info or direction people could offer would be awesome. Finding these photo's has been very emotional for my father who feels like he's understanding who his father was for the very fist time.
Anyway, thanks!
The Grüner Baum (Green Tree) is a common name for hotels in both Germany and Austria. There are dozens out there from the look of it. Best approach would probably be to check the unit's progress with possible matches. I have good hopes of the town itself not having changed all that much since the war considering that there does not appear to have been any damage to the buildings whatsoever.
Because you can't actually make out the water at the 'fountain' I wouldn't rule out the possibility of that actually being a WWI memorial. (In some sort of scaffolding?)
I did a bit of searching for MG on the helmet, the only thing I could find was this : http://www.usmilitariaforum.com/forums/index.php?/topic/80687-ww2-liner-2nd-service-command/
Maybe your Grandfather was assigned as a military guard ?
The vehicle is a Willys Overlander Jeep. They were the mainstay of army transport during the war. Willys Overlander made budget cars pre-war but designed the jeep just prior to war. This is the roots of the Jeep company that still makes 4x4 road vehicles today. A little history here: http://ww2db.com/vehicle_spec.php?q=243