Bombs away in the attic: Relic is live grenade

[Blue Tile Spook]

Bombs away in the attic_ Relic is live grenade | The Journal Gazette

WOODBURN – Jean Messmann, 61, first learned there was a hand grenade in the attic of her Woodburn home about the time of her husband’s funeral last October.

Stier’s collection of weapons includes a World War II German bazooka that police found hanging on a wall during a drug bust, as well as a rocket launcher retrieved from the crawl space of a Churubusco home about three years ago.

It seems that more and more of these armaments are being found as our WWII, Korea and Vietnam vets die off.

With the way I was out-processed in the early 90's, I would have been hard-pressed to sneak something like this out of the service with me. I know a few who tried with firearms but they all got caught.

 

[turnandshoot4]

I'd love to have the German bazooka. I wouldn't be able to have live rounds, but it would be awesome to have.

 

[jeremy]

I am thinking if I found a grenade in my attic I would have to go out and dispose of it!

Pull pin and throw right...

 

[Dogman]

Bombs away in the attic_ Relic is live grenade | The Journal Gazette





It seems that more and more of these armaments are being found as our WWII, Korea and Vietnam vets die off.

With the way I was out-processed in the early 90's, I would have been hard-pressed to sneak something like this out of the service with me. I know a few who tried with firearms but they all got caught.

They were more trusting back in the 40's and 50's, and think of the hundred of thousand's that were getting out after WW2 and trying to out- process all of them. I find it interesting the couple of times I've read when after a vet dies and the family will find some art or gold object that was brought back and just hidden.

 

[RogerB]

They were more trusting back in the 40's and 50's, and think of the hundred of thousand's that were getting out after WW2 and trying to out- process all of them. I find it interesting the couple of times I've read when after a vet dies and the family will find some art or gold object that was brought back and just hidden.[/quote]

Kind of along the same lines....and I'll start another thread for this later today with pics. Not necessarily the spoils of war, but items constructed out of locally available materials during war time.

Such as the lamps my dad made while station in France, they're made of Artillery and Mortar shells and engraved with the date and location. He also did some candle stick holders out of a large caliber round, not sure which I'll have to check and see if its visiable. Also some wood carvings he did while in the Philippines. Specifically the Navy anchor and rope with the letters USN across the front of it, this is my particular favorite piece. Really shows the skills dad had with wood working.

Anyways, like I said I'll start a thread later with pics.

 

[Bshaw]

Hand Grenades

When i was a Kid in Illinois ,My best friends dad had been put in a Hospital for extended stay
while cleaning the garage they found 2 live grenades
police came and disposed them

 

[Dogman]

They were more trusting back in the 40's and 50's, and think of the hundred of thousand's that were getting out after WW2 and trying to out- process all of them. I find it interesting the couple of times I've read when after a vet dies and the family will find some art or gold object that was brought back and just hidden.[/quote]

Kind of along the same lines....and I'll start another thread for this later today with pics. Not necessarily the spoils of war, but items constructed out of locally available materials during war time.

Such as the lamps my dad made while station in France, they're made of Artillery and Mortar shells and engraved with the date and location. He also did some candle stick holders out of a large caliber round, not sure which I'll have to check and see if its visiable. Also some wood carvings he did while in the Philippines. Specifically the Navy anchor and rope with the letters USN across the front of it, this is my particular favorite piece. Really shows the skills dad had with wood working.

Anyways, like I said I'll start a thread later with pics.

I remember some of the Knot artwork that some of the old navy salts had done and was just amazed with the skill.

 

[JByer323]

My grandfather brought back a Cossack saber and a SS Luger. I didn't know about the saber until a few years ago.

 

[tyler34]

this exact thing happened to me and my mom. I was helping her move out her house and she was handing me things out of the attic and out of nowhere there's a grenade in a box of my grandpa's old stuff mom freaked out called the cops they sent out the bomb unit which disposed of it. they said it was a real grenade it was just to degraded after inspection to have detonated.

 

[coltaceguy]

Pretty common. My great uncle brought him all kinds of neato **** from WW2, rifles, pistols. He said he knew plenty of guys who brought home "those machineguns" and had no interest in registering them. They are out there, slowly being found.

Interesting story, my uncle bought a downtown building in a rural Indiana town. They were remodeling it and found some sorta funky fake wall. So they knocked it down and found a prohibition era BAR. Complete with whiskey, and 3 thompson submachineguns. Building must have been used to run liquor in the old days, there must have been a stairwell down to it at some point, obviously not there anymore when he bought the building. It was the way it was, 80 yrs ago, simply amazing.

 

[Chrolle]

I could not imagine some vet back then just walking home "Mom, i'm back from the war, and oh, I brought a rocket launcher home with me"

 

[RogerB]

Dogman here's the thread if your interested or anyone else for that matter.

https://www.indianagunowners.com/forums/break_room/20368-war_time_memorabilia.html

They were more trusting back in the 40's and 50's, and think of the hundred of thousand's that were getting out after WW2 and trying to out- process all of them. I find it interesting the couple of times I've read when after a vet dies and the family will find some art or gold object that was brought back and just hidden.[/quote]

Kind of along the same lines....and I'll start another thread for this later today with pics. Not necessarily the spoils of war, but items constructed out of locally available materials during war time.

Such as the lamps my dad made while station in France, they're made of Artillery and Mortar shells and engraved with the date and location. He also did some candle stick holders out of a large caliber round, not sure which I'll have to check and see if its visiable. Also some wood carvings he did while in the Philippines. Specifically the Navy anchor and rope with the letters USN across the front of it, this is my particular favorite piece. Really shows the skills dad had with wood working.

Anyways, like I said I'll start a thread later with pics.

 

[Disposable Heart]

I would feel uncomfortable with a WW2 era grenade or rocket anywhere near my home. The German stuff could be "last ditch" and god only knows if it could "slip" and fire off. Hell, the grenades of the time were different in material composition today. Lord only knows what that has degenerated to. If I found an old grenade, I would "puss out". Call the damn bomb squad. I aint going near that thang! Probably degenerated into something touch or vibration sensitive.

That being said though, I am waiting for my grandfather to come out of the blue with a PIAT launcher or something....

 

[sloughfoot]

I was an Army EOD type in the early 70's stationed at TCAAP but TDY constantly all over the place. We did a souvenir drive in Green Bay, WI one week in 1971. It took a deuce and a half to haul all of the ordnance away.

Grenades, mortars, artillery shells including two 5in 38 navy HE rounds fuzed, all kinds of small arms ammo. US, German, Japanese, Italian. All of it brought back home from WWII or Korea. Most of it live and none of it painted blue.

Afterwards, GBPD requested that I come back and train a few of their Officers on bomb detection and handling procedures. ie: the start of their bomb squad.

There was also a German 88 AA gun in the Upper Peninsula until I put a 1/4 lb block of TNT down the snout. I think ATF hauled it away.

There is no doubt in my mind that there are tons of HE stuff hidden in attics and basements all over this country.

 

[RogerB]

I was an Army EOD type in the early 70's stationed at TCAAP but TDY constantly all over the place. We did a souvenir drive in Green Bay, WI one week in 1971. It took a deuce and a half to haul all of the ordnance away.

Grenades, mortars, artillery shells including two 5in 38 navy HE rounds fuzed, all kinds of small arms ammo. US, German, Japanese, Italian. All of it brought back home from WWII or Korea. Most of it live and none of it painted blue.

Afterwards, GBPD requested that I come back and train a few of their Officers on bomb detection and handling procedures. ie: the start of their bomb squad.

There was also a German 88 AA gun in the Upper Peninsula until I put a 1/4 lb block of TNT down the snout. I think ATF hauled it away.

There is no doubt in my mind that there are tons of HE stuff hidden in attics and basements all over this country.

lol wow " deuce and a half" I thought I was the only one that still calls them that.

This thread makes me think of the saying..."a rifle behind every blade of grass..." a rifle and then some!

 

[Dewidmt]

When I was at the NCO Academy at Goodfellow AFB, San Angelo, TX, we were required to do 5 hours of community service as part of the class. So a few of us went downtown to help with a new WWII museum the locals were setting up. Lucky me, I volunteered to catalog and identify all the old rifles they had had turned in to them by widows and other family memebers. So they open the vault and I'm confronted with all kinds of live ammo, grenades, mortar shells and bayonets. A few stacks of rifles, mostly Jap 6.5's with the "mums" ground off, Italian Carcanos...usual junk. As I get closer to the bottom of the pile I find....a 1918 Browning Automatic Rifle (BAR) full-auto and functional with 6 full mags of ammo! I seriously considered moseying to the back of the building and putting it out in the weeds in the alley for later (night) pickup, after all, NOBODY had inventoried this stuff, they had just piled it up when folks brought it in. But since I don't relish roomates named "Flesh-eating Bill" I just asked the nice volunteers to call the cops for all this live, unregistered ordnance. Kinda made me wonder how much other stuff is sitting in attics all around the country. This was 2003, by the way!

 

[smitty12b]

I was an Army EOD type in the early 70's stationed at TCAAP but TDY constantly all over the place. We did a souvenir drive in Green Bay, WI one week in 1971. It took a deuce and a half to haul all of the ordnance away.

Grenades, mortars, artillery shells including two 5in 38 navy HE rounds fuzed, all kinds of small arms ammo. US, German, Japanese, Italian. All of it brought back home from WWII or Korea. Most of it live and none of it painted blue.

Afterwards, GBPD requested that I come back and train a few of their Officers on bomb detection and handling procedures. ie: the start of their bomb squad.

There was also a German 88 AA gun in the Upper Peninsula until I put a 1/4 lb block of TNT down the snout. I think ATF hauled it away.

There is no doubt in my mind that there are tons of HE stuff hidden in attics and basements all over this country.

How in the hell do you get a towed 88....Allmy dad brought back was a couple 98's and a couple pistols...

 

[RogerB]

When I was at the NCO Academy at Goodfellow AFB, San Angelo, TX, we were required to do 5 hours of community service as part of the class. So a few of us went downtown to help with a new WWII museum the locals were setting up. Lucky me, I volunteered to catalog and identify all the old rifles they had had turned in to them by widows and other family memebers. So they open the vault and I'm confronted with all kinds of live ammo, grenades, mortar shells and bayonets. A few stacks of rifles, mostly Jap 6.5's with the "mums" ground off, Italian Carcanos...usual junk. As I get closer to the bottom of the pile I find....a 1918 Browning Automatic Rifle (BAR) full-auto and functional with 6 full mags of ammo! I seriously considered moseying to the back of the building and putting it out in the weeds in the alley for later (night) pickup, after all, NOBODY had inventoried this stuff, they had just piled it up when folks brought it in. But since I don't relish roomates named "Flesh-eating Bill" I just asked the nice volunteers to call the cops for all this live, unregistered ordnance. Kinda made me wonder how much other stuff is sitting in attics all around the country. This was 2003, by the way!

wow I'll just admit it and get over it....you're a better man than me.