By Joanne Bailey-Boorsma
joanne@wktv.org
When a person comes back from a vacation, it is not uncommon for them to also bring back a few souvenirs. It is no different for those who have fought in a war, especially World War II, Korea, or Vietnam — except their souvenirs could possibly be explosive.
“It was not uncommon for veterans of World War II, Korea, and Vietnam to bring these items (munitions such as mortar shells) home,” said Sgt. Joe Roney, one of 12 members on the Michigan State Police Bomb Squad that services the westside of Michigan. “As these veterans pass, it is when family members come across these items.”
Such was the case last week when a resident came to the City of Wyoming Department of Public Safety with munitions, which turned out to be an inert mortar round and .30 caliber bullets, to the the department’s headquarters at 2300 DeHoop Ave. SW. For safety, the department closed its offices until the Michigan State Police Bomb Squad was able to clear the items.
“We usually ask people to call the police department before bringing stuff in,” said Roney, who was one of the members from the Michigan State Bomb squad to respond to last week’s call. “We really do not want people to drive around with these items in their car because they don’t know if they are live.”
According to experts, munitions can become more volatile and unpredictable as the items age, so police urge residents to leave the items where they are discovered and call the police.
“Some of the items can be highly explosive,” Roney said, adding that dynamite and blasting caps are examples of such items.
“Farmers often had dynamite or blasting caps to blow up stumps,” he said. “If you come across these items, they can still be very dangerous.”
Roney said his unit gets quite a few calls for found old munitions. There are stories of a person who noticed a neighbor’s doorstop was an old 60-millimeter shell but most people just find items stored in in a forgotten box in the home after the person has died.
For people who come across such items, evacuate the area and call the local police department which in turn will reach out to the the Michigan State Bomb Squad, Roney said.
All items are properly disposed of by the Michigan State Bomb Squad, he said.
It is estimated that 500,000 World War II, 2.25 million Korean War, and about 850,000 Vietnam War veterans were still living in 2018.
