Editorial: Families of vets must be wary of souvenirs

As World War II and Korean War veterans grow older and leave their longtime homes, police say family members should be alert to the dangers of handling wartime souvenirs that can kill or maim the unwary.

These decades-old munitions include hand grenades, rifle cartridges, mortar shells and portable land mines that soldiers carried or shipped home as souvenirs, despite military regulations to the contrary.

Military ordnance disposal experts say many of these weapons may be as dangerous today as when they were removed from the battlefield.

Not all of the munitions were used for training purposes. They can contain fuses deteriorated by time and which can detonate if mishandled.

A recent incident near Toledo, Ohio, required the services of a "bomb squad" to neutralize a live hand grenade found in the personal property of a recently-deceased veteran of World War II.

No one was injured because the vet's son wisely contacted local police who summoned the munitions experts who exploded the grenade with no injuries.

To great surprise, several family members living on the Atlantic Coast showed up a few years ago at a police station with five large projectiles which turned out to be live artillery shells from a Navy ship. Luckily, no one was injured.

Weapons and ammunition taken from enemy soldiers often are especially dangerous because of age and unfamiliarity.

Authorities advise immediately calling 911 to report such items without touching them.

First response agencies, in turn, will contact an EOD (explosive ordnance disposal) unit to remove the danger.

EOD specialists in all branches of the military and larger civilian agencies are properly trained and equipped to defeat unexploded ordnance and improvised explosive devices.

Most of the munitions are found to be harmless but all are treated as the real thing for safety purposes.

An experienced EOD professional gave this explanation for the abundance of caution:

"Just because something hasn't gone off in 50 years, doesn't mean it won't do so today."