Hey AskHistorians, I was cleaning out a family members house when i came across this photo of my grandpa in what looks to be a German SS uniform. The story i was always told from my mom was that he grew up in Latvia and was a avid hunter and a crack shot. When WWII came he was conscripted into the German army and quickly the SS because of his skills as a sniper. He survived the war and immigrated to the US after it was over. I also found these (1) (2) photos which appear to be related to immigration? My mother only knew him as a child and said he didn't like to talk about his wartime experiences so this is all i know. Can anyone tell me anything from his uniform, or even if the story I've been told checks out?
Thanks
What I can gather from the picture is the following: Your grandpa is wearing a SS uniform, his cover has a Totenkohf or Death's Head, with what should be the Reich eagle above it but since it's blurry I am not too sure it is Example.
The second thing is his collar insignia, it appears he was a Corporal, I'm going with Corporal because the stripe on his left collar seems thicker than a Private First Class stripe, however it could be a PFC one possibly Corporal Collar and PFC Collar
The third thing is an educated guess, but I would personally say I am pretty certain that the stripe on his right hand sleeve is the emblem for the Latvian Legion Latvian Emblem.
EDIT: Formatting
Hello there! As your question is related to looking for identification/information regarding military personnel, our Guide on Military Identification may be of use to you. It provides a number of different resources, including how to request service records from a number of national agencies around the world, as well as graphical aids to assist in deciphering rank, unit, and other forms of badges or insignia. While the users here may still be able to lend you more assistance, hopefully this will provide a good place to start!
