| Original caption: “A package for Hitler. An infantryman in training prepares to hurl a pineapple of the inedible variety. American soldiers make good grenade throwers.” A United States Army soldier during training in handling grenades. This staged photo displays the early 1942 uniform and equipment. This soldier is wearing the 1st pattern herringbone twill uniform, with the new M1 helmet. He carries a World War I-era 30 caliber 7.62 millimeter M1903 Springfield rifle. He is storing stripper clips for the rifle in his M1923 cartridge belt with M1936 suspenders. He has an M2A2 “heavyweight” gas mask in the standard carry bag. For this photo, for which there were several angles taken, he is holding a Mark II “pineapple” grenade. This World War I-era design was used throughout World War II and into the Korean War. This appears to be a blue practice grenade that is technically incorrectly handled according to the manual. The Mark II grenade was hurled with the fuse down, so “the firing lever will not be thrown over when the grenade leaves the hand.” Photographed by Alfred T. Palmer (March 17, 1906 – January 31, 1993). Palmer made dozens of photographs of American soldiers tossing grenades at Fort Belvoir. A native of California, Alfred T. Palmer traveled the world during the 1920s and 1930s as a photographer for shipping lines. In 1940, he was selected to lead the photo department of the Office for Emergency Management. In 1941, he moved to the Office of War Information. After the war, Palmer was a staff photographer at “National Geographic”. He later produced films for the United States Maritime Commission, the State Department, corporations, and humanitarian groups. Palmer visited the 1st Armored Division before it left for overseas and took dozens of color and black and white photographs. | |
| Image Filename | wwii0919.jpg |
| Image Size | 4.94 MB |
| Image Dimensions | 8233 x 6402 |
| Photographer | Alfred T. Palmer |
| Photographer Title | Office of War Information |
| Caption Author | Written or Adapted by Jason McDonald |
| Date Photographed | November 1, 1942 |
| Location | |
| City | Fort Belvoir |
| State or Province | Kentucky |
| Country | United States |
| Archive | Library of Congress |
| Record Number | LC-USW36-451 |
| Status | Caption ©2026 MFA Productions LLC Please Do Not Duplicate or Distribute Without Permission; Image in the Public Domain |
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