75 years later, unexploded grenades, bombs continue to surface on Guam

Anumita Kaur | Pacific Daily News

Editor's Note: The invasion, occupation and liberation of Guam had a lasting effect on the island's people, government and institutions. Each week leading up to the 75th anniversary of Guam's liberation, the Pacific Daily News will examine how the events of 1941-1944 continue to affect life today. We'll share stories from survivors, family members and historians. Do you know a person we should profile, or do you have a family story you'd like others to know about? Is there a topic we should address? Share your suggestions with us at news@guampdn.com.

Although the battle for Guam ended 75 years ago, remnants of war continue to be unearthed along roads, in yards, on beaches and farms.

About 11,000 pieces of bullets, grenades, bombs and other pieces of unexploded ordnance have been found since 1954, according to the Navy.

There is no estimate as to how many pieces of unexploded ordnance remain to be discovered, but Navy officials are sure there is more to be found, turning up when there is increased construction and development.

The history

The majority of this leftover weaponry is left from the Second Battle of Guam, in which American troops recaptured the island from the Japanese.

“In the war, it was firepower that determined the success of the American invasion, and it was phenomenal,” said historian David Lotz. “It was massive.”

This was the art of war, according to Lotz.

More: Online timeline puts region's history in perspective

“Most of it was specific, target oriented bombing. If you thought Japanese were amassing troops in certain areas, you would hit a larger area,” Lotz said. “When you would call in fire, you would have mass shellfire. The object was to illuminate any enemy personnel in the area, and it was massive gunfire.”

The battle stretched 20 days, raining ammunition and explosives down on the island. At first, it was aircraft dropping bombs, according to Lotz.

“Once U.S. came on shore, it was mass artillery,” he said. “Initially, it was the invasion beaches of Agat and Asan.”

The attacks quickly moved their way up north, leaving a trail of war’s waste behind. Ordnance can be left behind for many reasons: debris from attacks, gear that is left behind after a soldier is injured or killed, faulty weaponry that simply malfunctioned and didn't detonate when launched.

Now, residents, beachgoers and construction workers come across the remnants of war so often, it’s uneventful.

In March, Jericho Serrano and his coworkers gathered for lunch after handing a 14-inch projectile over to the authorities. Serrano found the rusted projectile that morning while sifting soil at Manhita Farms in Yigo. The Black Construction employees simply called the authorities and continued their day.

"It's normal for us," Serrano said. "I'm not scared. But I didn't touch it either, you could be dead."

Unexploded ordnance has been similarly discovered in major battleground regions across the world, said Jackie Smith, the military explosive of concern program director with Naval Facilities Engineering Command-Marianas. Smith served on an explosive ordnance disposal unit when he was on active duty.

“We find ordnance in the continental United States,” Smith said. “This is not something particular to Guam. We’re still digging up civil war cannonballs and revolutionary cannon balls in Charleston. It happens every time we have a hurricane.”

However, the intensity of war on such a small piece of land leaves a much more noticeable trace.

“The most destructive war in human history to date came on the island,” said Karl Lettow, Joint Region Marianas public affairs officer. “Most of the stuff is going to get unearthed over time.”

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The process

There have been 1,454 calls since 1991 to the military’s explosive ordnance disposal units on Guam to handle the findings, according to the Navy. About 50% of these discoveries are related to military base projects, like the discovery at Manhita Farms.

“You’re gonna have to look at it out in three portions: surface laid out unexploded ordnance, underground unexploded ordnance and underwater unexploded ordnance,” Smith said. “Most of the surface unexploded ordnance has been cleared over the years. As construction goes on, they’re going to keep finding these things.”

The response is well-practiced, Guam’s EOD units said. The Department of Defense mandates that the military responds to all findings on or off-base, without reimbursement from the local government.

“Someone will find a piece of ordnance, or what they think is a piece of ordnance, they will notify the local police department, local police department will notify homeland security,” Smith said.

Homeland security will contact Joint Region Marianas, who will deploy one of the two servicing EOD units on island. There is an EOD unit with the Navy and another with Andersen Air Force Base.

“The EOD unit will response, the EOD unit will then make a determination as to whether the item is safe to move, or needs to have a procedure done on it to render it safe,” Smith said. “If they do that the item is taken care of on the spot, or rendered into such a condition that the item can be safely moved, they will then take charge of it and move that item back to a storage area where it will be stored until it can be destroyed.”

Dealing with unexploded ordnance in a timely manner is key, he said.

“The procedure is done immediately if possible,” Smith said. “The disposal may be done at a later time depending on how much material they’ve got and how much capabilities they’ve got at the time.”

The discoveries

“Some of the stuff we find is in relatively pristine condition,” said Tech Sgt. Anthony Walling, with Guam's air force EOD. "You're dealing with common stuff that we know was in our inventory, so it's easy to identify via measurements.”

The range of discoveries is wide, in size and variety: from bullets and fuses to grenades and bombs.

The most common ordnance found on Guam are incendiary devices, according to Navy records. 2,085 incendiary devices, or bombs that start fires, have been found since 1991.

Small arms ammunitions are a close second; 1,864 small arms ammunitions have been discovered since 1991, followed by 1,226 high explosive projectiles and 643 grenades.

Out of the 47 general purpose bombs found since 1991, the majority are 100-pound or 500-pound bombs. Four 600-pound bombs were found, three of which were discovered at Naval Base Guam, during construction on base.

The largest bomb found on Guam to date is a 1,000-pound bomb, discovered June 14, 2010. This was uncovered during construction by the Naval Base Guam's gym.

If it's not construction revealing ordnance, it's mother nature. Super Typhoon Yutu uncovered a 500-pound bomb on Tinian.

"Everything out here is World War II specific," said Lt. Mark Snyder, with the Navy EOD Mobile Unit 5. "It's all U.S. or Japanese items."

The ordnance's origin depends on the area of the island and the history, according to the EOD units. Around Asan and Agat, where the U.S. first invaded to recapture the island, the ordnance is primarily American.

“Some previous guys in our unit even said, 'Hey if you're going to be in this area, you're probably going to find some things that look like this. In its rusted condition, its probably going to look like this,'" Smith said.

The rate of discoveries correlates largely with development projects. Just in 2018, 457 pieces of ordnance were discovered. The majority of these were at Finegayan, the site of construction for the future Marine Corps base on island. In 2015, 1,645 pieces of ordnance were discovered; this is the greatest number of ordnance found in one year in recent decades. The majority of these discoveries were made at either Naval Base Guam or Andersen Air Force Base, according to Navy records.

As construction and development move forward in and outside of the fence, the EOD units said, it's only expected that the war's weaponry will continue to be dug up.

For locals, this is business as usual.

On Manhita Farms, it was Serrano's first time discovering a piece of ordnance during construction work. Even then, he was unexcited.

“It's not so shocking to the local populous because they've never known anything different," Lettow said. “In the time since the war, it’s always been here.”

Remnants of war remain at the forefront of existence on Guam in that way, according to Lotz, carried in bullets and bombs.

“That's one of the legacies of the war," Lotz said.