Bean Can or Bomb? Retired Marine Diver Pulls WWII Relic from Lake

Bean Can or Bomb? Retired Marine Diver Pulls WWII Relic from Lake

El Dorado County, California Retired Marine Corps diver Michael Clough was clearing trash from Fallen Leaf Lake, just south of Lake Tahoe, when he picked up what appeared to be bean can. The 76-year-old scuba diver periodically works to clear the area of litter, but this dive yielded more than garbage.

"It was corroded and there were threads on it at one time," Clough said. "I thought it could be mercury. They used it up here in the mines a lot."

Knowing that he should not put mercury in the trash or recycling, he held onto it for a few months. He said that despite the fact he did not believe it was any type of explosive, he brought it to the Lake Tahoe Historical Museum.

[More]

These Onions are Sure to Make Your Eyes Water

The Netherlands A routine onion delivery from France to a factory in the northern Dutch province of Zeeland became cause for alarm when Dutch authorities discovered two hand grenades hidden among a crate of onions.

The grenades, dating from 1925, were examined by ordnance personnel who concluded, "The projectiles were identified to be consistent with pre-1925 French and German manufactured old chemical weapons. However, the type of chemical fill could not be identified."

There is no answer as to how the devices ended up among the onions. They are slated to be destroyed, but since the Netherlands lacks a dedicated destruction facility for explosives, they will be transferred as toxic waste to the specialized chemical dismantling facility in Belgium.

WWII UXO Discovered in West Virginia National Forest

Davis, West Virginia An unexploded ordnance found at Dolly Sods in the Monongahela National Forest was safely disposed of by West Virginia State Police, according to an alert put out by the Forest Service.

The suspected UXO was reported by a member of the public, and Forest Service officials confirmed the location and size of the item. First responders from Tucker and Grant counties and the West Virginia State Police responded to dispose of it.

[More]

Drop the Hammer and Leave "Ordnance" ID to the Professionals

Formby, England Merseyside Police were called in to reports of a suspected munition found in a Formby yard during renovations. What was at first thought to be an unexploded German bomb was determined by EOD to be old metal pipe, but not before the contractor who found it pounded on it with a hammer.

Timmy Goulbourne had been doing some work at a cottage when he made the discovery. John Robinson, the owner of the cottage, said "We were clearing a pathway last week. We were digging it out with a JCB and Timmy pulled out [what we thought was] the bomb."

Robinson further explained the Goulbourne said, "No, it's not a bomb," and started hitting it with a hammer saying "see, it's not exploding!"

A spokesperson for Merseyside Police said, "We can confirm officers attended open land in Formby following the discovery of a metal pipe initially suspected to be an unexploded ordnance. As a precaution the EOD team attended and assessed the object was a rusted metal pipe."

As a reminder, never strike a suspected ordnance item with any other device. Leave it in place and notify authorities.

Please Leave Grandpa's Grenades at Home

Tacoma, Washington EOD responded to the Tacoma Police Department after a woman brought an "heirloom" UXO in for disposal. The WWII-era hand grenade was reportedly passed down from a family member who had served in the military.

"While the intentions were good, please don't bring grandpa's war souvenirs to the lobby," the police reminded people in a post on their social media page.

Police spokesperson Shelbie Boyd said that people are well-meaning with they bring in old ordnance, but they should, instead, leave it in place. "You just never know how stable those things are," she said. Better to leave it to the experts to evaluate.

Police department and U.S. Army EOD safely disposed of the live munition.

Toddler Brings Live Grenade Home

Boise, Idaho A Washington State Patrol bomb squad responded to a home after a toddler found a grenade in the front yard of his home, according to the Grant County Sheriff's Office.

In a terrifying sequence of events, the child reportedly entered his family home holding the live munition. Bomb squad technicians determined that it was indeed a live WWII-era grenade which appeared to have been outside for quite a while.

The bomb squad safely removed the device to a rural area north of town to dispose of it. No word as to how the ordnance got there or how long it had been in the family's yard.

Hitch Cover Sparks Bomb Scare

Dundalk, Maryland Baltimore County Police responded to a parking lot near a medical facility for reports of a suspect ordnance. Once on the scene, officers determined that what was first thought to be a Claymore mine, was instead a novelty trailer hitch cover.

The building was evacuated, and a perimeter was established while experts examined the item. A Claymore mine is actually an anti-personnel mine developed by US Armed Forces. It was named after a large medieval Scottish sword and would certainly not make for a good trailer hitch!


BlogCFC was created by Raymond Camden. This blog is running version 5.5.002.