By David Fleet

Editor

Atlas Twp.

-Margaret Story discovered a rather unique piece of military history on Monday.

The township homeowner said she catching up on some fall yard work on Monday afternoon and entered a small shed behind her home.

“There was small tin can with some bubble wrap inside sitting in the shed,” she said. “So I pulled it out and there was a hand grenade with the pin still in it.”

Story realized the old WWII era grenade, also known as a pineapple grenade, had belonged to her late husband’s father-in-law.

“I had asked him to get rid of it many years ago,” she said. “I’m really not sure how he got it, but my sons remember the grenade from when they were little boys.”

Story had considered taking the grenade to the sheriff’s office in the township.

“So I contacted a good friend of ours, John McMurray—he’s a long-time meteorologist in the mid-Michigan area,” she said. “He encouraged me to not move it, rather, call the police.”

The Genesee County Sheriff’s Office evacuated the neighborhood until the Michigan State Police Bomb Squad personnel from Bridgeport arrived.

Ordnances such as grenades are common, said MSP Bomb Squad Lt. Joshua Collins, who for the past 16 years has disposed of hundreds of leftover munitions like Story owned.

“In this case the pin was in the grenade, but there was no explosive in the body,” he said. “The grenade was X-rayed on site to make the determination. The team did not deploy the Michigan State Police robot that is often used to take care of ordnances.”

The grenade was wrapped in tape and removed from the area by the state police.

“About 20 percent of the time it’s live,” said Collins.

“In the case of the Atlas Township grenade the fuse part is live the exlosive part is not. It was a Mark II or pineapple grenade—pretty common.”

Collins said typically grenades are WWII or Korean vintage and are still for sale through the military surplus stores.

“Then a family members finds it and is not sure if it’s real,” he added. “The best thing to do is leave it alone and call authorities. Michigan has many military ranges where the use of practice grenades are common. It’s not uncommon for a grenade to be found.”

Collins said it’s very common that a grenade is purchased or sent home from a war many years ago. The recipient puts the souvenir away and it’s often forgotton.

Monday’s grenade incident is the second in less than two years.

On June 23, 2015 a Brandon Township woman and Port Austin man arrived at the township substation in a pickup truck with a military ‘pineapple’ style grenade in a box on the back seat with the pin still in place.

The man told deputies the grenade was discovered by the wife of a Marine who had recently died. The ordnance was found in the attached garage of the couple’s Oakwood Road home. The Marine had likely acquired the grenade from his military days and his widow wanted to get the grenade in the hands of the right people.

The grenade was also disposed of by the Michigan State Bomb Squad.