Middletown, Ohio A grenade was found in the Great Miami River by a fly fisherman who was standing almost 20 feet from shore in 2 feet of water.
Fortunately, the fisherman was recognized the device for what it was and contacted local police who responded with technical support provided by the Butler County Sheriff's Office Bomb Squad. A spokesman described the device as an "old pineapple grenade" and indicated that the device was still live.
Dorset, United Kingdom sailors aboard Merchant tanker ship, Skaw Provider, were surprised to find an old torpedo caught in the ship's anchor while raising the anchor from outside Portland Port. The flute of the anchor pierced the torpedo exposing the interior components of the ordnance.
The ship's captain notified the Coast Guard who responded with technical support provided by an EOD team from the Royal Navy's Southern Diving Unit based in Portsmouth. Due to safety concerns from the UXO, the ship was evacuated of all non-essential personnel and fuel was pumped from the ship's tanks that were close to the torpedo before EOD began their operations.
Devon, United Kingdom Construction workers dismantling a wall at a farmhouse made a startling discovery -- an exploded shell hidden in the wall. The workers notified the farm personnel who called the police. A Royal Navy bomb disposal team responded and transported the item to nearby field for proper disposal.
The manager of the farm told Authorities that "the grandparents of the owners used to use the bomb as a door stop." She added that the wife of the former farmer "wanted it out of the way" and so "he buried it in the wall". The UXO was identified as a WWI era projectile.
Kamloops, Canada Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) responded to the site where what was believed to be a military smoke grenade had been activated, but failed to ignite. The item was treated as live ordnance, and the area was cordoned off while RCMP EOD safely disposed of the grenade. An investigation is underway to determine who discarded the grenade on the public road.
Huthinson Island, Florida St. Lucie County sheriff's officials were called to the scene of a small fire that broke out when construction crews unknowingly unearthed an old military munition. Three homes were evacuated and a quarter-mile area was cordoned off as the WWII training round was safely removed by local bomb technicians.
Buffalo, New York A resident doing renovations in a basement found an odd object lodged between the floor and wall. Upon further examination, she discovered it was an old artillery round.
The woman called the Buffalo Police who called in the Erie County Sheriff's Office Bomb Squad. ATF agents also responded to the scene. The xrays taken by the bomb squad proved inconclusive so the bomb squad contacted the military for additional assistance. An Air Force EOD team from the Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station responded.
Carlisle. Massachusetts A new librarian on her first day on the job at the Gleason Public Library came across Civil War era ordnance while cleaning out a closet. The ordnance was reportedly part of a Gettysburg collection of material donated to the town over a year ago.
Darmstadt, Germany Teachers evacuated a kindergarten after spotting an unusual item on one the shelves in a classroom. The police responded along with ordnance experts who identified the item as a WWII era incendiary device.
Elyria, Ohio A North Ridgeville resident notified police after discovering an anti-tank shell in a box he purchased from an estate sale. The 106 mm recoilless rifle round, stamped with the year 1959, was detonated by the Lorain County Bomb Squad with the assistance of EOD from Wright-Patterson Air Force Base.
Munich, Germany A German woman is facing a financial crisis after a 10-ton cache of live Nazi ammunition was found buried in her garden. Authorities in Munich informed Melitta Meinberger that she is legally responsible for paying the 200,000 euros (approximately $217,000 US dollars) to remove the stockpile found beneath her home in Kiefergarten. Workers building an addition onto her home unearthed mines, phosphorus bombs, hundreds of shells and grenades, hundreds of thousands of bullets, and anti-tank projectiles.
The state pays for the removal of all WWII ordnance on public land, but it does not pay for removal on private property. In the two weeks following the discovery of the ammunition, Meinberger and 200 of her neighbors have been forced from their homes between the hours of 8am and 4pm every day while experts work to remove the munitions. The process is expected to take 40 days, after which she will be billed for the efforts.
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