Not an average donation

Published June 25, 2013
By Airman 1st Class Jonathan Bass
20th Fighter Wing Public Affairs

Shaw Air Force Bass, SC -- The Explosive Ordnance Disposal unit here received a call from the Sumter, S.C. Police Department that a grenade had been found at the Goodwill store in Sumter, June 17.

Staff Sgt. Jeremy Sutphen, a 20th Civil Engineering Squadron EOD Craftsman, loaded up the EOD truck, and he and his team went to work.

The Airmen arrived to find the area cordoned off and confirmed with Sumter police that there was in fact a grenade.

"They basically said someone had intentionally or inadvertently donated what they believed to be an inert grenade," Sutphen said.

Sutphen, along with his three-man team did research on the item to find out what it was.

"Based on the research that we conducted, it was a pre-1942 Mark II hand grenade," Sutphen said. "We know it was pre-1942 because the color coding changed in 1942 or there about from yellow to Olive Drab green with a yellow band to signify high explosives."

It was the oldest grenade that the team had seen, so they X-rayed it to check the internal components before detonating it using C-4, Sutphen said.

"We know there's always the possibility of something happening, so we think ahead. It's kind of a chess game," said Senior Airman Richard Mirabal a 20th CES EOD Journeyman.

The unit trains regularly for situations like this, making sure they're sharp on their craft and ready whenever they're called, Sutphen said.

The four Airmen safely detonated the grenade preventing loss of life and property.