The Region - News from April 28, 1987

The main runway at John Wayne Airport was closed for about 35 minutes while an Orange County Sheriff’s Department bomb squad removed a World War II-era unarmed marker bomb that was unearthed by a construction crew. The bomb, found about 20 yards from the main runway, was taken to El Toro Marine Corps Air Station for disposal. Marine Gunnery Sgt. Peg Cauley said the marker bombs were not designed to explode on impact. “Mostly they just smoke,” she said. Although the runway was closed, there were no evacuations or flight delays, said Curtis Porter, airport operations supervisor. Porter said that about four such bombs have been found over the last 10 years in various construction projects at the airport, the site of some military air fields until 1946.