Old Artillery, Rockets Found in Piermont

A woman cleaning out her parents' garage in Piermont stumbled upon three 60-year-old explosives last Monday, police said.

The garage on Paradise Avenue belonged to a World War II veteran and his wife, both of whom recently passed away. Their daughter was sorting through items when she uncovered one artillery round and two rocket-propelled grenade rounds.

The RPG rounds were located in the garage; the artillery round was in the garden outside.

"She did just as we ask," said Michael O'Shea, Piermont's police chief. "Don't touch it—let the police department evaluate it and remove it."

Due to Piermont's close proximity to the now-defunct Camp Shanks military installation in Orangeburg, and Piermont Pier's use as a shipping-off point for WWII recruits, residents finding 1940s-era bombs is not unheard of.

"It's not a normal occurrence, but it does happen sometimes," said to Piermont police office Patrick Gaynor, who responded to the initial call. Gaynor has military and combat experience.

"Some veterans brought these back as keepsakes," Gaynor explained. "Some of these are training rounds. A lot of the rounds are still live."

The three recovered Monday, however, were not live.

Last summer, a Piermont resident uncovered a similar explosive but did not follow police protocols, instead digging up the round with a pick-axe.

The Rockland County bomb squad came to headquarters Thursday morning to dispose of the explosives.