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Dive off Hilo to explore
By Rod Thompson
WWII ammo report
Star-BulletinHILO - State officials and Navy divers will conduct a dive outside the Hilo breakwater tomorrow to investigate a report of military ammunition dumped there.
The unexploded shells are believed to have been dumped after World War II, said the state Department of Land and Natural Resources, which is advising people to stay clear of the area tomorrow.
Dive Shop owner Mike Brandon told the Star-Bulletin he discovered the ammunition about mid-May. He and a friend were going to dive at a site marked on nautical charts as an ammunition dump in 90 feet of water. Instead, they dived in 40 feet of water about a half-mile outside the Hilo breakwater where they were surprised to find an unmarked dumpsite.
Brandon said the ocean floor there consists of coral ridges with valley between them. "Every time we swam over a ridge, the next valley had more ordnance," he said. "There's coral growing all over the stuff. It's heavily populated with fish."
Some of the shells had projectiles in them, but Brandon - a former Navy salvage diver with training in unexploded ordnance - thought it would be safe to bring up two shells without projectiles.
When he surfaced, he could hear still-dry powder in the shell.
He placed the shells in "bubble wrap," brought them back to the shore, and eventually called a Coast Guard official. "He looked at them and said he didn't want to touch them," Brandon said.
An Army demolitions expert came, took the two shells to the Hilo dump, and blew them up.
