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It's not every day that you can bring a bomb into a government building and walk out without handcuffs.

Pretty much never.

When Mobile native and Orange Beach local Becky Hire and Gulf Coast Media photojournalist Micah Green did just that, it wasn't even just one. They had three.

Kids, don't try this at home.

Hire had a cousin visiting from Texas, and while they wanted to take kayaks out, the mid-January chill – this was days before the historic 10-inch snowstorm, with temperature archives from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration showing mid to upper 50s for the Alabama coastal area – solidified their plan to stay in shallow waters and stay away from power boats.

Another thing about that time of year: the water was "so very clear."

"You could look down and see things on the bottom and see fish go by, which is the fun of it," Hire said. "I'm always looking at what's there. Animals, hurricane debris."

A rusty blob.

Hire got out of her kayak and used her foot to push it. She could tell it was heavy.

"I pushed the sand away and picked it up, and as I was picking it up, I started to recognize the shape," she said.

She held it up to her cousin.

"I said, 'Hey, it looks like a…bomb!'" Hire recalled. "She paused for a second and was like, 'Did you just say bomb?'"

LOCAL HISTORY, GLOBAL IMPACT

Hire has found plenty of artifacts and debris in the back bays of Orange Beach. She found a vintage outboard motor on its side in the same area after Hurricane Sally. In addition to the water's clarity, it was "unusually … calm."

She also is no stranger to the area's military history. Her grandfather, a World War I veteran, went through Pensacola's aeronautic center, training in aviation repair. Her sister went through Pensacola for flight school on her way to becoming an astronaut. Other family was also Navy.

There's an airstrip closer to OWA in Foley, and there's another older one closer to Pirates Cove.

"If you're taking off and drew a straight line, it would take you to the middle of this," she said, referencing the location she found what one of Gulf Coast Media's Green's contacts at the USS Alabama Battleship Memorial Park later confirmed were practice bombs, recognizable by the rounded tips. Their explosive counterparts were more pointed.

"I felt like I had a piece of history in my hand, besides the excitement of, 'Oh my God, it's a bomb.' This is something that came from the pilots who were practicing to serve our country. All the young men who committed to fight," she said.

TELLING THE STORY OF FOLEY'S BARIN FIELD

Once Hire, with the help of Green, confirmed the devices were dummy practice bombs used by aviation cadets, the two went out to find it.

They found three.

"I didn't really expect going back out there that we'd find any more after she found that one. So, to find two more almost immediately was really exciting. As somebody who is not from here and is interested in learning the history [of the area], it was a really cool connection to the past. You think about the people who loaded it or helped make it, and then, of course, the guys who dropped it," Green said.

Each having succumbed to a varying degree of corrosion and aquatic growth, they show deterioration over time. Displayed next to a fourth donated to the City of Foley by former mayor Tim Russell and his wife, Sandy, they will be added to the new exhibit at the Foley Railroad Museum centered around Barin Field, the Navy training base established in 1942.

"To be able to give it back to Foley and to the community, as somebody who doesn't have any roots here, was really rewarding," Green said.

Almost 5,800 aviators practiced at the field in its first two years, and about 2,000 Navy personnel were stationed at the site at its peak, according to Guy Busby, marketing communications manager for the City of Foley.

This had become the goal once Hire realized what she had found. She wanted this local history to be used to tell the area's military story.

Last year, Foley was designated an American World War II Heritage City, where the National Park Service recognizes one city in each state for its impact the community had on the war effort, including military operations and civilian support, as well as work done since the war to honor it.

"This recognizes the contribution that Foley made during one of the world's major conflicts," Busby said. "Members of the Greatest Generation joined the military, raised crops to feed the country and its allies and contributed to the war effort in a huge variety of other ways. Thousands of Navy aviators who went on to fight in the Pacific were also trained in Foley."

Hire had the right idea when thinking of bringing the artifacts to the city. (The donation was, of course, prearranged. Do not walk into a government building – or any, for that matter – claiming you have a bomb out of the blue. Also, Hire said, don't go looking intentionally for these bombs, and don't "go digging them up." She only found the first because it was sticking out of the sand, and she and Green only found the subsequent artifacts because they were also unburied while searching for the first. A pinpoint metal detector did not work. Just because these were not explosives, you never know what it is you come across. The shoreline of the bay where Hire found them is privately owned by either a marina, businesses or homeowners.)

The city wants to expand the Barin Field display and commemoration with larger exhibits. Ahead of the exhibit's December 2024 opening, a 1941 Navy N3N biplane was donated in October 2024. While this specific aircraft was not stationed at Barin Field, it is the same model cadets in Foley used to train, Busby said.

Anyone with old photographs, uniforms, memorabilia or other items can contact Foley's marketing department about loaning or donating items. Busby said the city is seeking items and stories from and about Foley residents during World War II and from Barin Field from the 1940s and 1950s.

"We very much appreciate these donations. This is the kind of item [the practice bombs] that helps tell our story and helps Baldwin County residents and visitors learn about the huge contribution this area made to the war effort," Busby said. "During World War II, Barin Field aircraft were a constant sight over South Baldwin County as pilots prepared for combat. These practice bombs, which are still being found, are part of that legacy and history."

Photographs can be scanned and returned.

For more information, call (251) 943-1200 or email gbusby@cityoffoley.org.

The Foley Railroad Museum is located at 125 E. Laurel Ave. Museum hours are 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Saturday.