World War II-era live grenade found in Eisenhower museum collection

A recent search turned up the discovery of a seven decades-old live grenade inside the Eisenhower National Historic Site's museum collection.   

The device, a U.S. armed forces Mk II fragmentation hand grenade with a M10A3 fuze (commonly referred to as a “pineapple” grenade because of its appearance) was determined to still be live following a directive from the National Park Service that required curators to find any potentially live ordinances among their collections.

The grenade was on display inside a case for nearly two years as part of the “Eisenhower's Leadership from Camp Colt to D-Day” public exhibit, according to a Facebook post from the Eisenhower National Historic Site. The artifact dated back to around 1944 and was found buried in the sands of either Utah Beach or Omaha Beach in Normandy, France.

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The live grenade was safely destroyed by experts in late February.

“It is sad that a significant battle relic had to be destroyed, but safety of staff and visitors takes precedence over preservation in this case,” staff said in the post. 

Located on nearly 700 acres in Cumberland Township, the historic site preserves the farm and home of the 34th President of the United States, Dwight D. Eisenhower. It is accessible to visitors through shuttle buses from the Gettysburg National Military Park Visitor Center.  

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Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, more than half a dozen parks and facilities operated by the National Park Service have been temporarily shuttered in the past several days, including the Washington Monument, the Statue of Liberty National Monument and Ellis Island. Reopening dates for those affected sites have not yet been determined.

Late Monday evening, officials announced that the Eisenhower National Historic Site and the Gettysburg National Military Park Visitor Center and Museum would be closed to the public starting March 17 through at least March 31. However, the battlefield grounds and roads remain open to the public at normal seasonal hours, which is currently 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily. 

Updates announcing any changes to the temporary closures will be posted on the NPS website.