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The Hand Grenade Incident at Fort Polk, Louisiana
It was 1970, about a year before I joined the Army. I had a motorcycle dirt-biking accident that caused my left knee to twist out of the socket and back in. It hurt. Bad. Over the next year, it popped out and in several times. It hurt. Bad. Fast forward to 1971, U.S. Army Infantry training at Fort Polk, Louisiana, and the hand grenade range. It was my turn.
The instructor handed me a genuine fragmentation grenade. Now, to be honest, I don't remember if it was he or I who pulled the pin, but I had a firm grip on the handle (spoon) so that's all that mattered at that point. Off I ran down the lane, screaming as instructed. When I reached the soft dirt area where I was supposed to throw the grenade over the wall, my knee did its in and out thing. It hurt. Bad.
I went down hard. The fact that you're reading this means I didn't let go of the grenade. I came to my senses, managed to stand up, and threw the grenade over the wall. Barely. BOOM! The next step was a Jeep ride to the hospital to get that knee checked.
KHT 0496