News Release

Eisenhower National Historic Site has historic grenade destroyed for safety purposes

A very busy aerial picture of Normandy Beach, France in 1944 as dozens of Allied transport ships unload their cargoes of tanks, vehicles, and soldiers.

Library of Congress

News Release Date: March 10, 2020

Contact: Jason Martz, 717-338-4423

In order to maintain the highest safety standards possible, and out of an abundance of caution, Eisenhower National Historic Site staff safely removed a WWII era armament from the museum collection. The grenade had been on display since March 2018 in an exhibit at the Gettysburg National Military Park Museum and Visitor Center entitled “Eisenhower’s Leadership from Camp Colt to D-Day”.

The grenade in question was a circa 1944 Mark II Fragmentation Grenade with a M10A3 Fuse. This was a common armament that would have been used by United States forces during the D-Day assaults on Omaha and Utah Beaches in Normandy, France on June 6, 1944, but was not owned by Dwight D. Eisenhower.

Region 1 - North Atlantic-Appalachian Office of the National Park Service is currently compiling information about historic armaments maintained in park museum collections within Northeast United States units. During that survey, Eisenhower National Historical Site staff identified that the grenade in question could not be conclusively proven to be active or inactive and was properly disposed of on February 28, 2020 by certified technicians at an undisclosed location.

Eisenhower NHS and Gettysburg NMP Superintendent, Steven D. Sims said that, “It was unfortunate that a WWII era artifact had to be destroyed but visitor and staff safety is paramount. I’m proud of the quick decisions made by our staff in order to maintain park and region-wide safety protocols.”