Hempstead County road crew workers dug up a live 155 mm artillery round with a backhoe when attempting to put in a culvert Monday afternoon on Hempstead County Road 16 near Historic Washington State Park. Hempstead County Sheriff's Chief Deputy James Singleton said county road workers immediately recognized it was bomb and secured the area.
“There was no doubt about it. It was fully intact. The area was roped off until we could get the EOD unit out of the Little Rock Air Force Base to come and destroy it,” Singleton said.
A bomb crew arrived about 8:30 p.m. and the bomb was taken to a remote location off Hempstead County Road 46 and detonated by the Air Force personnel, according to Singleton.
Singleton said no one was injured and only a few workers were on the scene. He did not know who was operating the backhoe that dug into the bomb.
“ County Road 16 is a well-traveled area. Deputies blocked off the area until Air Force personnel could get there,” he said.
Singleton said the area was part of the Southwestern Proving Grounds, a former WWII testing site.
He said the bomb was about four inches in diameter and about 24 inches long, and the blast from the detonation could be felt a quarter of a mile away from the scene where it was destroyed.
“ We get these calls regularly and we can't stress enough, whether or not they look like there is nothing to them, there could be. We ask people if they come upon one to please, please not disturb it, because there probably 50 to 55 years old and they are very unstable,” Singleton warned. “Everyone is okay. The Air Force did a wonderful job and no one was hurt.”
