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Show v . abandoned dynamite near Hendersonville, N. Y. An EOD team discovers that nitroglycerin has seeped from the sticks and settled at the bottom of the boxes. That means the boxes cannot be trucked to demolition ranges without endangering communities along the way nor can the explosive be detonated on the spot without causing U ..-i-Ligreat damage. Tho team n do only on thing: carefully lift the boxes one by one and gingerly carry them to a roped-of- f area, then place them on a special combustible material The delicate job takes two days. Then the commanding officer ignites the combustible material which, by maintaining a specific temperature, should but often does not burn off the nitro without exploding it This time it works perfectly. Here's another experience that a bomb squad considers "all in a day's work"; Passengers on a flight from Phoenix to Chi. cago suddenly realize they are descending rapidly on prairie airfield. The pilot reports: "We are landing at McConnell Air Force Base near Wichita, Kan. Shortly after taking off, the Phoenix airport received a phone call saying this plane had been sabotaged All passengers will leave the plane immediately upon landing." Ordnance experts of the U. S. Air Force, alerted by the pilot, are standing by. In less than five minutes, MPs have politely ushered 60 passengers to buses, which roar off before many have been seated. Experts comb the plane for eight hours. Meanwhile, concrete vans carry luggage to a golf course, where each passenger must open his bags himself. Then an expert runs his hands over the clothing, searching for suspicious objects. This scare is a.hoax, as are 75 percent of the calls answered by the military. "But remember," says Capt T, D. Smith, 'an EOD veteran now on duty in Vietnam, "you never know it's a hoax until the last minute. Until then, every moment is just like those with a live bomb ticking away." Ftftoon yoors with EOD outfits have taught Captain Smith that his busy season for homemade .bombs is January and February; that many are incendiary types made by businessmen intending to start a fire and collect insurance; that bomb hoaxes in schools will increase around exam time; and that publicity about a bombing or hoax will set off a series of such incidents. What kind of men volunteer for ordnance-disposunits? Enlisted men usually have four-yeaprevious service and high efficiency and IQ ratings. "Service tenure is important," says Smith, "because the man's wife is used to Army life by then and has already learned to expect the unexpected." The voluntir goes through three investigations: personal interviews with EOD officers (is hazhe motivated only by the extra ard pay? if so, he's out) ; background checking (does he drink excessively, use barbiturates, run up debts?) ; and a psychiatricexamination (family problems? tend to take chances?). If accepted, the soldier spends 14 weeks at the U. S. Naval Powder Factory at Indian Head, Md., where specialists from the Air Force and Navy also train. Air Force ordnance-disposunits are on Force hazards Air for explosive responsible property, and the Navy covers the seas up to the mark of beaches. The EOD man soon becomes offhand about the dangers of his job, shrugging them off with such bits of gallows humor as: "I like the work, but I hope I don't get a bang out of it" or "Paratroopers worry about coming down; we worry about going up." Any mention of death or injury brings a shap - rejoinder :?We have the lowest casualty rate of .. any unit on hazard pay." Yet minutes later an officer will remark casually: "Usually new men are trained with inert devices, but recently a high-wat- -- This dynamite was" disarmed" near aBirmingham, Ala.,' church by bomb experts, who then rushed off to deactivate another package of explosives. rs noncom was rigging up a teft, and what he thought was an inert bomb exploded. I think three were killed." And a corporal will tell you: "Korea is still loaded with unexploded bombs. I traveled 7,000 miles one month, picking them up here and there. The commanding officer and a sergeant who replaced my team were driving a disposal truck last month, and it blew up. Never did learn what happened." There are different procedures (some classified) for each situation, but here is how a unit might handle one emergency: The state highway patrol reports that a truck bound for a firing range has overturned, scattering bombs of an- unknown type along the road. When the EOD team arrives, three men go forward, and the rest stay at a distance, readying tools and recording the others' progress. - Amid $moking ruin of the Bienhoa airstrip lie live bombs, preventing evacuation of wounded. It's up to an expert to detonate them harmlessly. tape-recorde- 1 d. ward. Alone, he must take the final step which will defuse the bomb. This is termed "an officer's privilege," and for it he gets an extra $110 a month hazard pay. The procedure is followed with each bomb until all are defused. One of EOD's most notable cases occurred last March. MSgt Marvin M. Bryon and Specialist6 Robert M Presley of the 142nd Ordnance De-- . tachment were just getting out of their bunks at Fort McClellan, Ala., one Sunday morning when an urgent request came from the mayor and the police chief of Birmingham, 60 miles away. A case of dynamite with an ominous timing device ticking away had been found near a church. Help was needed immediately. . Shortly before noon, the two soldiers were crouched' in front of the church inspecting a large green box commonly used to ship 50 sticks of dynamite enough to blow a hole three feet deep and 10 feet wide. As they studied police told them that an identical device had been discovered in a back yard 50 yards away. "My first concorn," recalls Sergeant Byron, "was to find out how the bomb was primed." He found a cheap' alarm clock, transistor batteries, wires, and a blasting cap all of which might be just a booby trap. But the alarm was set for noon, and there was still another bomb to study. Byron cut the wires. It was 11:58. The two EOD men next ran to the second box and without hesitation clipped its electricil sys- tern. "What time it it?" Byron asked. "11:59," Presley replied. . "Hey, follow us," a police officer shouted, "We found the same thing in an alley about eight ' i blocks away." A police escort raced them to the alley, where another green box ticked away. It was past noon now, and Byron and Presley were convinced the bombs had been set to go off together. Nevertheless, without armor, they entered the alley and severed the wires. Only then did they look at the system closely, A minor error had prevented the bomb from exploding on time! With Byron clipping the wires and Presley carrying the boxes to; their car, the specialists worked into the following morning rendering safe the bombs found under parked trucks and in other concealed spots. "Their performance on this occasion of peril" said President Johnson, "is an outstanding example of the dedication and devotion to duty so characteristic of the men and women in our armed services." it al in -- .50-calib-er er pt Cap-vta- Two of the forward specialists study the bomb" fuses (both must agree on the type and how it can be rendered safe). When they do, the third teammate goes for necessary tools, which may be as ordinary as your home hardware or as . exotic as a wrench which is activated by a bullet IOD goos on tho thoory, "never trust an individual" Both men place tools on the fuse to-gether. They report each move by phone to With the rear area, where it is tools in place, the commanding officer comes for- al . near-bankru- 7 "' v Family Weekly, November tS. I65 ' ' |