Wehrpass - wounded Machine gunner, Finland / Karelia

1st edition Wehrpass issued to Richard Rietheiner, from the city of Tübingen. Born in April 1913, he trained as a mechanic (Mechaniker) and was issued his Wehrpass in May 1936. He was called up for service with the army in February 1939, enlisting with Infanterie Regiment 87, based in Mainz. After finishing his training, he served with two MG (machine gun) battalions, from August 1939 to July 1942. He trained to use the MG34 machine gun and the standard Gewehr 98 rifle, as well as another weapon that I haven't managed to identify. He enlisted with the rank of Schütze and rose to Obergefreiter in Dec 1941. He held a class 2 military driver’s license (W.K.F klasse II). 

The Wehrpass’s entries and stamps indicate that he served in the occupation of Norway (Sicherung Norwegen) from Feb to August 1941. His unit was then transferred to the Eastern Front. His combat record is only partly legible to me, but it's clear that he served in Northern Karelia, a region of Finland, (Nord Karelien) in early 1942. He fought at other locations on the Eastern Front, though I’m not 100% sure of the exact locations. He was wounded in February 1942 and was later dismissed from military service at a military hospital in Germany in October 1942. He was awarded the Eastern Front campaign medal (Ostmedaille). His uniform details, blood type and time on leave are all noted in the booklet. He was awarded the standard payment of 30 Reichsmarks when leaving the army (Entlassungsgeld). 

Interesting Wehrpass, combat alongside the Finns is fairly rare. Unfortunately it's in rough condition, the cover has a number of period (or at least very old) tape repairs and the pages have become detached from the cover. Has a very “lived in / aged” appearance.