Hand grenade recovered from home by authorities
By John Joyce
Published in News on January 5, 2016 1:46 PM
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News-Argus/CASEY MOZINGO
Explosive Ordnance Disposal technicians from Seymour Johnson Air Force Base load up their truck after responding to a home on Hillcrest Drive Monday afternoon.
A local resident reported to the Goldsboro Police Department she had what might be a live grenade in her house Monday, prompting the police to call out the Seymour Johnson Air Force Base Explosive Ordnance Disposal unit.
Once EOD personnel secured the device, patrol officers from the police department escorted them back to SJAFB where the grenade was to be destroyed.
Susanna Miller, of 254 S. Hillcrest Drive, came to the Goldsboro Police Department at about 4 p.m. Monday to report she had a grenade in her home that she would like to have it checked to determine if it were live, according to a Goldsboro police report.
"She said her husband had it in the house for 20 years," Maj. Anthony Carmon said.
Carmon explained that while today it is illegal to purchase an explosive device, 20 years ago laws might have been different. The man might have also been a veteran, he said.
"It's 20 years, so you might be able to trace it back to whatever conflict was going on around that time," Carmon said.
Patrol officers returned to Mrs. Miller's home with her and determined the grenade was live. The officers then called EOD out to safely dispose of the explosive device.
The grenade, identified on the police report as an MK 2 hand grenade, is an anti-personnel weapon designed after World War I to replace an earlier failed version called the MK 1. The MK 2 was used extensively throughout WWII, the Korean Conflict and in Vietnam, according to a military history website, militaryitems.com.
A fragmentation grenade designed with grooves for a better grip, the MK 2 earned the nicknames "frag" and "pineapple" grenade while in service.
SJAFB officials said the 4th Civil Engineers Squadron received the call for service at about 3:20 p.m. EOD responded and airmen secured the grenade and transported it back to the base for disposal.
"The hazard was detonated in a safe and secure environment at the EOD bombing range," officials said.