Ancestor Photos

Schütze (private) Robert E.

This photo shows my grandfather (father\'s side of my family) Robert E. (1924-1998). He was an MG42-gunner in an infantry-unit (sorry, got no further information) that served on the central sector of the Eastern front. Grandfather volunteered in 1941 by the age of 17. When being asked he never wanted to talk about his wartime experiences, he just kept on saying: \"I never hit anyone...\". Knowing the russian mass infantry attacks and the devastating effect of the MG42 one could imagine what his eyes have seen. He once got wounded by a tiny shell splinter which hit him so close to the heart that doctors wouldn\'t dare to remove it. At the end of the war he and his unit \"rescued\" themselves into US-captivity. Being a baker in civilian live he was sent home after a few month because laborers like these were badly neede in post-war Germany. (flamethrowerguy)