Over 1,000 lbs of WWII ordnance detonated

Over 1,000 lbs of live World War II ordnance were detonated at the Laderan Laggun cliff line in Marpi at past 1pm yesterday, setting off a thunderclap that rebounded along the cliff’s walls and sending a huge cloud of smoke into the still air.

But after the “bird shot” meant to scare away the birds in the area about a mile north of the Marpi landfill, a military plane flew above the area.

During scheduled detonations, planes and road vehicles are not supposed to be driving by the area.

After the bird shot—which detonated 5 lbs of ordnance—came the major shot for the over 1,000 lbs of ordnance, all collected from a site in Marpi that was earlier thought to be developed into a homestead area.

Public Safety Commissioner Santiago Tudela pushed the button for the major detonation.

Over 30 adults and children, along with a visiting crew of the National Geographic, watched the detonation from atop Suicide Cliff.

Capt. Pete Leon Guerrero, commander of the CNMI Explosive Response Team, and AMPRO president John Scott separately said the 1,000 lbs was the largest volume to be detonated since 2004.

“There were 1,200 items and over 1,200 lbs of explosives. What makes this detonation unique is that all of them were U.S. Army artillery ammunition,” said Scott, adding that the pieces detonated included mostly artillery and howitzers, and some hand grenades.

Most of the detonated ordnance were retrieved from the Marpi area leading to Suicide Cliff starting on March 1.

“So in less than six weeks, we found over 1,000 lbs of explosives. Clearing of the site is still ongoing and we expect to retrieve more,” he said.

Scott added there will be two or three more detonations as they find more World War II unexploded ordnance, the first one by end-June or early July.

Two representatives from the U.S. Navy Explosive Ordnance Disposal detachment in the Marianas, based on Guam, led the detonation with assistance from XRT, which is composed of Department of Public Safety police officers and Commonwealth Ports Authority police.

Abigail Ruben, 20, of Garapan, went to Suicide Cliff just to witness the detonation.

“This is my first time,” she said. She was with five relatives, including the youngest spectator—a one-year-old girl.

DPS closed the Marpi area from 12pm to 3pm. The only area that was not closed off was Suicide Cliff, which was the main viewing point for the detonation. Public access to Suicide Cliff was allowed only through the road leading up to the Far East Broadcasting antenna for viewing purposes.

The site where all of the detonated ordnance were retrieved was an area used by the U.S. military immediately after the capture of Saipan during World War II. It was used to store thousands of tons of ordnance for the impending invasion of the Japanese mainland.

In the 1950s, the U.S. Army attempted to dispose of the munitions by blowing them up in place, but it was only partly successful, leaving the area with unexploded ordnance, according to the biological assessment of the area.

In the 1960s, a cleanup operation was undertaken and 4,000 tons of hazardous materials were collected and disposed of. Conservative estimates say less than half the ordnance present was removed. Present ordnance includes projectiles, hand grenades and mortar rounds.