Park Visitor Finds Unexploded Ordnance On Sandy Hook Beach

HIGHLANDS, NJ — An unexploded piece of ordnance (military ammunition or a bomb) was found Saturday evening on Sandy Hook, the National Park Service confirmed.

It was a park visitor who found the ordnance at 5 p.m. Saturday. The person found it in the tidal area of South Gunnison Beach. (Gunnison Beach also happens to be Sandy Hook's nude beach; it is the only nude beach in the state of New Jersey).

The ordinance is believed to be a mortar round from WWI, but this has not been confirmed, said National Park Service spokeswoman Daphne Yun. She does not know its dimensions, she said.

The visitor reported what they found to the park ranger station, and a team from Naval Weapons Station Earle removed the ordnance at 2:30 a.m. Sunday, during low tide, Yun said.

Ordnance is the term for military bombs and other munitions that have not exploded. The National Park Service calls it unexploded ordnance, or UXO.

It is actually relatively common for people to find unexploded ordnance at Sandy Hook, said Yun, as Sandy Hook is a former military ammunition proving ground used by the U.S. Army in World War I and II. A proving ground is where the U.S. military tests weapons and bombs.

The National Park Service did stress that "unexploded ordnance (UXO) should always be considered extremely dangerous," and stresses that anyone who finds any ammunition or bombs at Sandy Hook should not touch or move the device.

"UXO have been found throughout Gateway National Recreation Area, most recently at Fort Tilden and Fort Hancock," according to this webpage on the subject from the National Park Service, which has photos of what unexploded ordnance found at the park can look like.

Writes the National Park Service:

"UXO come in many shapes and sizes. They can look like a pointed pipe, a soda can or a muffler. They can look old or new; be alone or in groups; and be visible or buried under the surface."

Anyone who stumbles across found at unexploded ordnance at Gateway National Park (the formal name for Sandy Hook) should immediately report it by calling 718-354-4700.

For more information visit the UXO Safety Education Website at: www.denixosd.mil/home/