Some Museum visits can get quite exciting (Toccoa, GA).
Sat May 16, 2015 10:09 am
I was driving from Atlanta to Piney Flats TN one night last week and I saw a sign in the middle of nowhere that said Tocca that way. So it dawned on me that the 1st and 506th PIR (Band of Brothers fame) had trained there. So since I had retraced most of their travels through Europe, I should go and check it out.
I get to Toccoa about 9 am and the museum didn't open until 10 so I wandered through downtown and grabbed breakfast. Man, nothing sets off breakfast like a nice piece of country ham and fresh biscuits.
I went to the museum right at opening. There was a lot of really cool stuff to see. A couple of British guys had even brought a large shed from England that some of the guys had stayed in and reassembled it there. It was big and was quite a project to get it there. It just so happened the two British guys were there on vacation and we had a chance to compare notes. Great guys and I learned a lot.
http://www.toccoahistory.com/default.html
At the end of the museum was a gift shop. I bought a cup for 7 bucks. The two British guys brought in an old case of empty AN-M-14 TH containers. Those are the old WWII Thermite Incendiaries that are a little different than the newer AN-M-14 TH3 ones that are Thermate instead of Thermite. They burn at around 2200 degrees C. and splatter quite a bit. Sort of nasty.
Of course I would like to have that case in my collection of stuff so I had looked it over pretty well. It was in great shape for something made in 1942. I turned to pay for my cup when one of the Brits says Oh-Oh this one does not feel empty. No one wanted to have much to do with it, so I asked to see it. I opened the bottom half so I could see the bottom and inspect it for corrosion before opening the top end (business end). We of course did this outdoors. The bottom was absolutely perfect. Brand new showroom condition so I put the bottom back on and flipped it over to check out the business end. It was in the same condition as the bottom. Perfect specimen made in December of 1942. The safety seal tape of the container was probably removed when the case was used at range probably in 1943 since most of the stuff was used hand to mouth in the supply chain around that time. Even after the seal tape had been removed back then and the thing had been in the Georgia humidity for all those years it was perfect even down to paper seal between the fuse assembly and the body.
So I was asked what they should do with it. I told them unfortunately it is probably a Federal Felony to have this in their possession. They should call either the cops of the fire department for instructions. In the mean time we will keep it outdoors and an eye on it. It was packaged to ship to a combat zone and was in perfect condition since 1942, so the threat level was pretty much non-existent. Two detectives showed up, both younger guys and you could tell by their reaction this is not the kind of detectiveing they were used to. Sort of comical really but they were all real good folks. I was joking that we could start an "Adopt a Grenade" program, and I would be more than happy to adopt the first one. They wouldn't bite, but it was worth a try. After a bunch of phone calls, we now had the city cops, county sheriffs, and a couple I think were state guys sealing off the block and cordoning off about 40 meters around the "device". They instructed everyone including myself to stay in the building. I said sheltering the folks in a wood structure near an incendiary device was probably not the greatest idea if they are that worried about the "device". They agreed.
The museum curator had been hauling this case around in his car for about a week so he was a little bent out of whack about it. Real nice older guy, the perfect southern gentlemen type.
After about an hour and a half a bomb tech arrived (probably from Atlanta) and did what I wanted to do. Placed a piece of tape across the two can halves and put it in the back of his van. All together there ended up being about a dozen various police vehicles and I don't know how many LEOs. The local radio stations and the Toccoa Record newspaper even showed up.
So in conclusion I would like to thank the Toccoa Military Musuem, The two British Gentlemen, Toccoa PD, Stevens County SD, the Atlanta Bomb Squad, radio station KNEG, and the Toccoa Record for a very exciting day at the museum.
And my wife thinks military museums are boring.
I get to Toccoa about 9 am and the museum didn't open until 10 so I wandered through downtown and grabbed breakfast. Man, nothing sets off breakfast like a nice piece of country ham and fresh biscuits.
I went to the museum right at opening. There was a lot of really cool stuff to see. A couple of British guys had even brought a large shed from England that some of the guys had stayed in and reassembled it there. It was big and was quite a project to get it there. It just so happened the two British guys were there on vacation and we had a chance to compare notes. Great guys and I learned a lot.
http://www.toccoahistory.com/default.html
At the end of the museum was a gift shop. I bought a cup for 7 bucks. The two British guys brought in an old case of empty AN-M-14 TH containers. Those are the old WWII Thermite Incendiaries that are a little different than the newer AN-M-14 TH3 ones that are Thermate instead of Thermite. They burn at around 2200 degrees C. and splatter quite a bit. Sort of nasty.
Of course I would like to have that case in my collection of stuff so I had looked it over pretty well. It was in great shape for something made in 1942. I turned to pay for my cup when one of the Brits says Oh-Oh this one does not feel empty. No one wanted to have much to do with it, so I asked to see it. I opened the bottom half so I could see the bottom and inspect it for corrosion before opening the top end (business end). We of course did this outdoors. The bottom was absolutely perfect. Brand new showroom condition so I put the bottom back on and flipped it over to check out the business end. It was in the same condition as the bottom. Perfect specimen made in December of 1942. The safety seal tape of the container was probably removed when the case was used at range probably in 1943 since most of the stuff was used hand to mouth in the supply chain around that time. Even after the seal tape had been removed back then and the thing had been in the Georgia humidity for all those years it was perfect even down to paper seal between the fuse assembly and the body.
So I was asked what they should do with it. I told them unfortunately it is probably a Federal Felony to have this in their possession. They should call either the cops of the fire department for instructions. In the mean time we will keep it outdoors and an eye on it. It was packaged to ship to a combat zone and was in perfect condition since 1942, so the threat level was pretty much non-existent. Two detectives showed up, both younger guys and you could tell by their reaction this is not the kind of detectiveing they were used to. Sort of comical really but they were all real good folks. I was joking that we could start an "Adopt a Grenade" program, and I would be more than happy to adopt the first one. They wouldn't bite, but it was worth a try. After a bunch of phone calls, we now had the city cops, county sheriffs, and a couple I think were state guys sealing off the block and cordoning off about 40 meters around the "device". They instructed everyone including myself to stay in the building. I said sheltering the folks in a wood structure near an incendiary device was probably not the greatest idea if they are that worried about the "device". They agreed.
The museum curator had been hauling this case around in his car for about a week so he was a little bent out of whack about it. Real nice older guy, the perfect southern gentlemen type.
After about an hour and a half a bomb tech arrived (probably from Atlanta) and did what I wanted to do. Placed a piece of tape across the two can halves and put it in the back of his van. All together there ended up being about a dozen various police vehicles and I don't know how many LEOs. The local radio stations and the Toccoa Record newspaper even showed up.
So in conclusion I would like to thank the Toccoa Military Musuem, The two British Gentlemen, Toccoa PD, Stevens County SD, the Atlanta Bomb Squad, radio station KNEG, and the Toccoa Record for a very exciting day at the museum.
And my wife thinks military museums are boring.
Re: Some Museum visits can get quite exciting (Toccoa, GA).
Sat May 16, 2015 10:52 am
need more interesting stuff on your trip. Cool story.
Re: Some Museum visits can get quite exciting (Toccoa, GA).
Sat May 16, 2015 11:13 am
Didn't the response "Relax guys, I'm a professional, I'll just put this in my bag for safe keeping", come out in the initial conversation with the the Brits??
Could have saved the excitement, til later . . . . . .
Could have saved the excitement, til later . . . . . .
Re: Some Museum visits can get quite exciting (Toccoa, GA).
Sat May 16, 2015 12:06 pm
Cool story bro.
Re: Some Museum visits can get quite exciting (Toccoa, GA).
Sat May 16, 2015 1:45 pm
Oh it crossed my mind alrightFishRanger wrote:Didn't the response "Relax guys, I'm a professional, I'll just put this in my bag for safe keeping", come out in the initial conversation with the the Brits??
Could have saved the excitement, til later . . . . . .
. Only two things stopped me:1. Felony.
2. Having all that excitement at the airport when it is found in my checked baggage.
It sure broke my heart to see it go.
The quality of the stuff made during WWII always leaves me in awe.
Re: Some Museum visits can get quite exciting (Toccoa, GA).
Sat May 16, 2015 1:54 pm
FishRanger wrote:Didn't the response "Relax guys, I'm a professional, I'll just put this in my bag for safe keeping", come out in the initial conversation with the the Brits??
Could have saved the excitement, til later . . . . . .
Dude how do I get my can of pineapple?