We&#39;d Like Our Bombs Back Please!

@moffittjc (120980)

• Gainesville, Florida

3 Jul 19

I read a newspaper story yesterday about some wildfires burning in France that have caused several unexploded bombs from WWI to explode. It is hard to believe that so many decades later there are still so many unexploded bombs around.

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Anna

@LadyDuck (467696)

• Switzerland

3 Jul 19

@moffittjc There are so many bombs still not exploded here in Europe. They have found many in Milan when they have dug for the subway. They have also found ancient Romans artifacts.

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@cperry2 (5608)

• Newport, Oregon

3 Jul 19

I was reading just the other day that there was a 'mysterious' explosion in a field somewhere in Germany. The officials state that it was most likely a failed WW2 bomb and that the primer rusted away setting it off. I would think that a frightening way to live, never knowing when the ground might explode right under your feet.

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LindaOH

@LindaOHio (171729)

• United States

3 Jul 19

I wonder how they knew he had found a bomb?

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@moffittjc (120980)

• Gainesville, Florida

3 Jul 19

He told me he thinks all the kids were talking about it at school and someone overheard and alerted the authorities.

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@moffittjc (120980)

• Gainesville, Florida

3 Jul 19

@LindaOHio No, I need to check it out.

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LindaOH

@LindaOHio (171729)

• United States

3 Jul 19

@moffittjc I see. Did you hear about the new invasive species in Florida? I just did a post on it.

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Barbara Radisavlejvic

@bagarad (14283)

• Paso Robles, California

4 Jul 19

We were so fortunate during the war not to be bombed on our mainland. So we don't have any buried bombs. But my husband and his friends used to play with grenades in Yugoslavia when they found them.

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Barbara Radisavlejvic

@bagarad (14283)

• Paso Robles, California

7 Jul 19

@moffittjc They used to store ammo along Pacific Coast Hwy near Long Beach, California. I remember we used to drive past the places where they keep it when I was very young.

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Barbara Radisavlejvic

@bagarad (14283)

• Paso Robles, California

7 Jul 19

@moffittjc I imagine that during the war it was guarded. I'm not even sure they still kept ammo there by the time I was seeing it years after the year was over. Maybe just the old facilities were there. Or maybe someone gave me wrong information when I asked what those funny shapes were as we passed by.

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@moffittjc (120980)

• Gainesville, Florida

7 Jul 19

@bagarad It's interesting that the location of the ammo storage facility was openly known by the public. You would think they would keep it somewhere secret so no one could attempt to vandalize or sabotage the facility.

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Belle Starr (Iz)

@BelleStarr (61102)

• United States

7 Jul 19

I don't think we will find any bombs here in CT but I suppose there might be something from the Revolutionary War/

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Belle Starr (Iz)

@BelleStarr (61102)

• United States

7 Jul 19

@moffittjc lol oh yah those revolutionary war airports are the worst!!

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@moffittjc (120980)

• Gainesville, Florida

7 Jul 19

@BelleStarr But thank God General Washington and his troops were able to secure them so quickly during the war!

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@moffittjc (120980)

• Gainesville, Florida

7 Jul 19

Just stay away from those Revolutionary War airports. There's probably all kinds of munitions buried around those airports. You know, with the Continental Army guarding them and all, like Trump said.

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DianneN

@DianneN (247186)

• United States

9 Jul 19

I didn't hear that story way up here. Amazing! I was more entered in your father's story about Manalapan. Wow! That's so close to us. I wonder how the Navy knew who took the tail fin. Glad your dad was court marshaled or anything.

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@moffittjc (120980)

• Gainesville, Florida

13 Jul 19

@DianneN There was a middle school right down the street that he went to as well (junior high school back in those days), and then for high school he went to Lake Worth High School. I think I'll try to look it up and see if the elementary and middle schools are still there.

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@moffittjc (120980)

• Gainesville, Florida

11 Jul 19

I'm sure all the kids were talking about it in school and someone overheard and called the authorities. By the way, my dad attended Lantana Elementary School. I wonder if it is still around these days?

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DianneN

@DianneN (247186)

• United States

12 Jul 19

@moffittjc I'm sure they talked about it. I will have to find out if your dad's school is still there when we return. I tend to stay far away from schools these days. lol

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Nevena Zivkovic

@Nevena83 (65277)

• Serbia

3 Jul 19

Airplanes and bombs in me cause negative reactions.

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@moffittjc (120980)

• Gainesville, Florida

3 Jul 19

We have a military bombing range about 45 minutes south of where I live. There have been many times when I have driven down and parked my truck along the perimeter of the bombing range and sat and watch Navy and Air Force jets practice their bombing runs. Things like that always fascinate me.

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Nevena Zivkovic

@Nevena83 (65277)

• Serbia

3 Jul 19

@moffittjc How can that fascinate you?

It's a weapon that kills.

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@moffittjc (120980)

• Gainesville, Florida

3 Jul 19

@Nevena83 My dad was a fighter pilot in the Navy. He fought in the Vietnam War. My whole family is military. My grandfather fought in the Korean War. I have always been fascinated with military aircraft. My fascination isn't necessarily towards the bombs they drop, but the fighter jets themselves. I don't like the fact that anyone gets killed, If I had my way, we would have world peace where we all got along and co-existed together.

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DW Davis

@DWDavis (25806)

• United States

4 Jul 19

A few miles north of here, down deep in the mud of a swamp, is a nuclear bomb that fell out of a B-52 back when they were stationed at the nearby airbase. In 1961, a B-52 broke up in flight over Goldsboro and its load of nukes fell to the ground. All were recovered but 1. It is still out there. In 2013, the fact that one of the bombs nearly detonated was declassified.

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DW Davis

@DWDavis (25806)

• United States

4 Jul 19

@moffittjc The triggering device was recovered. The only danger now is from the radioactive material they left behind leaching into the local groundwater. Even this isn't necessarily a danger. The device was about 180 feet down then. No telling how far down it's gone now. If you want to learn more about such accidents, there is a book out, Broken Arrow-The Declassified History of US Nuclear Weapons Accidents. Only read it if you want to lose sleep.

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@moffittjc (120980)

• Gainesville, Florida

5 Jul 19

@DWDavis I figure ignorance is bliss. The less I know about what really goes on, the better. I'll just keep living in my happy little bubble and pretend everything is all roses.

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@moffittjc (120980)

• Gainesville, Florida

4 Jul 19

And I'm sure there is still so much we don't know about military mishaps with nukes that have happened over the past 50-60 years. We'd be absolutely terrified if we ever knew all the mishaps and near misses that have been experienced over the years. So, is the missing nuke that is buried in the mud somewhere a live nuke? Is there any chance that it will ever detonate?

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Sharon

@simone10 (54187)

• Louisville, Kentucky

4 Jul 19

Oh my! Was the bomb live? If so, it's so scary to think what could have happened.

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Sharon

@simone10 (54187)

• Louisville, Kentucky

5 Jul 19

@moffittjc that's good! It could have really been a disaster.

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@moffittjc (120980)

• Gainesville, Florida

5 Jul 19

Yes, but the blasting cap was removed.

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Marie

@Tampa_girl7 (49934)

• United States

27 Jul 19

How did they know who had it ?

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Marie

@Tampa_girl7 (49934)

• United States

27 Jul 19

@moffittjc I can't even imagine the shock of them knocking on the door.

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@moffittjc (120980)

• Gainesville, Florida

27 Jul 19

My grandma said that she believes the Navy went knocking door-to-door. My dad says he thinks someone at school spilled the beans to authorities. Not sure exactly how they knew.

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M.-L.

@MALUSE (69378)

• Germany

3 Jul 19

That is indeed a great tale!

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When Is A War Over? / myLot

M.-L.

@MALUSE (69378)

• Germany

3 Jul 19

@moffittjc I've written a post on the topic. I have no personal experience, though.

www.mylot.com

When a war is over, it's not over. The Second World War ended in 1945, yet its after-effects are still felt. I hadn't read about the defusion of bombs from the...

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@moffittjc (120980)

• Gainesville, Florida

3 Jul 19

I know Germany is littered with unexploded bombs from WWI and WWII. Have you ever found anything leftover from the wars, or have there been unexpected explosions?

@moffittjc (120980)

• Gainesville, Florida

4 Jul 19

@MALUSE I read yesterday that officials still find up to 5000 unexploded bombs every year in Europe. That is terrifying that there are still so many bombs left to be discovered.

Valerie J. Routhieaux

@just4him (317036)

• Green Bay, Wisconsin

30 Jul 19

I hope the Air Force gets their bombs back. That's a funny story your dad told you.

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Valerie J. Routhieaux

@just4him (317036)

• Green Bay, Wisconsin

2 Aug 19

@moffittjc I'm sure someone is out looking for them. It's good they're not 'live' bombs.

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Judy Evans

@JudyEv (335206)

• Rockingham, Australia

3 Jul 19

Goodness, so it was a real bomb? It's a wonder he wasn't airborne, rather than grounded.

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@moffittjc (120980)

• Gainesville, Florida

3 Jul 19

It was a training bomb, so most likely had a blasting cap but no explosives inside.

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@moffittjc (120980)

• Gainesville, Florida

4 Jul 19

@JudyEv There is a national forest nearby where I used to camp and hunt at for years. In the middle of the forest is a Navy bombing range, but apparently back in WWII the entire forest was used as a bombing range. There was many times when I was out hunting that I came across signs in the middle of the forest that said "Danger: unexploded bombs!" I always thought it would be cool to find one, but I never did.

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Judy Evans

@JudyEv (335206)

• Rockingham, Australia

4 Jul 19

@moffittjc That's a bit reassuring.

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Susan

@HazySue (39264)

• Gouverneur, New York

3 Jul 19

How in the world did they know someone found a bomb. Your father's little adventure could have ended with a bang, luckily it didn't. It's a good thing the bombs the Air Force lost were "dummies". I wonder what kind of bird it was that was big enough to knock three bombs off the plane.

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@moffittjc (120980)

• Gainesville, Florida

4 Jul 19

@HazySue All in the name of safety I guess.

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@moffittjc (120980)

• Gainesville, Florida

3 Jul 19

From what my dad said, the kids must have talked about it at school (you know how hard it is for kids to keep secrets), and someone must have overhead and reported it to military officials. Luckily, my dad gave the bomb back, and the military officials gave him a stern lecture, but did not pursue further action. Times are different now. Had it happened in the current day, he probably would have been arrested by Homeland Security and charged with terrorism or something.

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Susan

@HazySue (39264)

• Gouverneur, New York

3 Jul 19

@moffittjc He was lucky. Is it me or are they overreacting a tad?

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@cperry2 (5608)

• Newport, Oregon

3 Jul 19

That's interesting. Good thing they were dummy bombs. I wonder why the military is so worried about dummy bombs being taken for souvenirs though. It's not like there would be any top secret stuff involved. Unless they are real bombs in every other way with only the explosives removed. Just seems weird.

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@moffittjc (120980)

• Gainesville, Florida

4 Jul 19

It might be because they don't want the design of the bombs falling into the wrong hands. Engineers could reverse engineer the bombs and learn our secrets of how our explosive ordinances work.

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@cperry2 (5608)

• Newport, Oregon

5 Jul 19

@moffittjc That would fit if the ones they call dummy are real in every respect except they do not have explosives.

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@cperry2 (5608)

• Newport, Oregon

6 Jul 19

@moffittjc That would be my guess as well.

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rsa101

@rsa101 (38115)

• Philippines

3 Jul 19

Wow they were able to trace it to their homes. How did they know that you got one of the tail fin of the bomb. Where you telling them to your neighbors that is why they got your father with it. Why would they ground your father if that was just a tail fin and would not pose any danger since its just dummy bombs.

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rsa101

@rsa101 (38115)

• Philippines

4 Jul 19

@moffittjc oh that’s what caught your dad.

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@moffittjc (120980)

• Gainesville, Florida

3 Jul 19

It was an entire bomb, not just the tail fin. My dad thinks some of the neighborhood kids were talking about it at school and someone overheard and alerted authorities.

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snowy

@snowy22315 (177270)

• United States

3 Jul 19

That's a little scary.

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snowy

@snowy22315 (177270)

• United States

4 Jul 19

@moffittjc You're rightnd I be there are some they don't know about as well.

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@moffittjc (120980)

• Gainesville, Florida

4 Jul 19

What is really scary is all the stuff we don't know (meaning the stuff the military doesn't tell us) about what kind of bombs are out there that have been lost as the result of an accident or other means.

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louievill

@louievill (28851)

• Philippines

3 Jul 19

Finders keepers lol! They should post some kind of reward for finding it or for any information and it's gonna be back in no time.

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