A member of the Latvju Jaunatnes Organizacija (LJO), or Latvian Youth Organization. The LJO, under direction of German leadership, was formed in April 1943. While nominally voluntary, by July 1944, boys and girls were being conscripted into the LJO. The LJO had two functions. One was to provide Landdienst (Land Service) workers and the other Luftwaffe Helfer (Helpers).
Although there was a regulation uniform and special insignia for the LJO, in practice, it was rarely followed and there was much variation in the uniforms as well as insignia worn. LJO members were to wear a LJO brassard but more often than not, they were not well constructed and fell apart. In their place, some LJO youth wore the same Latvian sleeve shield as issued to Latvian volunteers in the German Heer (Army) and Luftwaffe.
This Flieger (Private) likely shed his brassard and replaced it with the Luftwaffe pattern Latvian sleeve shield and he wears full Luftwaffe rank and insignia rather than the LJO accouterments. The uniform itself is Luftwaffe though his shirt is non-Luftwaffe, being a light gray rather than blue. The color of the collartabs was likely red as worn by Luftwaffe artillery personnel.
The majority of the LJO Luftwaffe Helfer served under Luftflotte 1, the boys (and girls as well) commanded by Hauptmann Edgars Rempe and Leutnant Indulis Kažocinš.
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