Trivia - Earliest Concerted Civilian UXO Clearance Effort

UXO Trivia - History Category The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) established the Military Munitions Response Program (MMRP)several years ago to address a portion of the UXO problem (i.e., not all UXO is addressed under the MMRP for example operational ranges are ineligible). This month's UXO Trivia Question explores the details of the earliest concerted civilian program to address UXO.

Here's this month UXO Trivia Question (3 parts): 1) When was the earliest concerted civilian lead effort by the DoD to clear UXO areas used during WWII (e.g., bombing and gunnery ranges, training areas); 2) What types of individuals conducted the UXO clearance efforts; and 3) What USACE Districts managed / contracted the efforts?

For those UXOInfo.com readers who guessed the Formerly Used Defense Site (FUDS) Program, you are off by about four decades. The FUDS Program was established in the 1980s (FUDS is now a category under the MMRP) after a very unfortunate incident that occurred in Tierra Santa, California where two young boys were killed and a third seriously injured when a UXO item they found near their housing complex (built near a former range) exploded as they were playing with it. The UXO was a 37mm M61 HE projectile.

For those UXOInfo.com readers who guessed the mid 1970s are closer but still off by about three decades. The U.S. Navy in the 1970s conducted an inventory effort and a "UXO Clearance Plan" which included a cost estimate to clear and remove UXO from all known Navy Ranges. It's unclear if the effort ever made it past the planning stage but nonetheless; it was not the earliest documented effort.

The earliest documented concerted civilian UXO clearance effort that UXOInfo.com is aware of dates back to 1945. A UXOInfo.com reader came across a series of documents in the National Archives including correspondence written in 1945 between the USACE and the Director of Military Training concerning training for personnel in order to establish "Bomb and Shell Disposal Squads".

The correspondence outlined a training request for personnel having previous experience handling mines and explosives. The selected personnel received a short six-day training course at the Engineer School located at Fort Belvoir, Virginia. The training consisted of two days of metallic mine detection followed by four days of demolition training. The memo references that the personnel to be trained will "compose 3 Bomb and Shell Disposal Squads and will be responsible for clearing duds from certain artillery and bomb ranges throughout the U.S."

Although the 1945 correspondence refers to three (3) Bomb and Shell Disposal Squads, it is believed that at least 14 squads in all were established. This assertion is made based upon a series of detailed records found in the National Archives on "Detachment 14 of the Bomb and Shell Disposal Team." Documents uncovered in the National Archives included monthly progress or status reports for Detachment 14 from 1946 - 1949. The memos referenced the USACE LA District being involved in establishing contracts for personnel support. The Bomb and Shell Disposal Team included engineers and hired local laborers as well as hired local horsemen to help survey areas. In some cases prisoners were used to help in the UXO sweeps. In all, thousands of acres were cleared of UXO. Installations or ranges where the Detachment 14 worked included: (click on the range / installation name to bring up the source document).

• Bruning Army Air Field, Nebraska (June 1946)
• Walker Army Air Field, Kansas (June 1946)
• Pratt Army Air Field, Kansas (June 1946)
• Drakes Bay Range, California (January 1947)
• Camp Claiborne, Louisiana (February 1947)
• Pueblo Precision Bombing Range, Colorado
• Camp Hale, Colorado (September 1946)
• Port Angles, Washington (October 1948)
• Victorville Army Air Base, California
• Williams Field, Arizona
• Fort Huachuca, Arizona
• Spillane Property, California
• Yakima AA Range, Washington
• Camp Lockett, California
• Ephrata Bombing Range, Washington
• Camp Wolters, Texas

More source documents are available but just not posted - contact UXOInfo.com information@uxoinfo.com for more details.

It appears from the documentation, that a Certificates of Clearance were typically issued after the completion of the UXO removals as outlined in the Camp Wolters example.

The documents did reference two policy directives including the Los Angels District Policy 2364-3 and the Surplus Real Estate Directive (SPD) 4892-3. It's unclear from the data available at the National Archives the exact extent of the clearance operations or when the Bomb and Shell Units were dismantled but the evidence is clear that the effort was certainly a large and concerted one.

Use the download link below to view a slideshow of the images from the "Detachment 14 Bomb and Shell Disposal Unit" documents available in the UXOInfo.com library.

Source material donated by Ricky Stauber, USA EOD (Retired).