500-pound WWII bomb found, detonated in NJ

EDISON, N.J. - The discovery of a 500-pound bomb on the campus of Middlesex County College in Edison was unusual but not completely unexpected, given the history of the place.

Construction workers preparing the foundation of a student enrollment services building knew they were excavating the former grounds of the Raritan Arsenal and might run into unexploded ordnance.

So they had already been trained to follow a protocol called the "three R's": Retreat, report, and await the response, college spokesman Patrick Madama said.

On Thursday, that's just what they did when they found the World War II-era bomb embedded in the ground.

Later that evening, the ground shook in a remote Fort Dix section of Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst where military personnel used C-4 explosive to detonate the bomb, probably produced at least 70 years ago, when the United States was fighting Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan.

"We were located in the safest, most secluded area [of the base] to have the least impact on the population" when the bomb was exploded, said Air Force Staff Sgt. Adam Usher, a member of the 87th Civil Engineer Squadron, Explosive Ordnance Disposal. "It was fairly routine."

The bomb - 46 inches long and 14 inches in diameter - was found at 2 p.m. by the construction workers, who reached out to authorities.

"They were trained and did what they were supposed to do," Madama said.

Work stopped, and the area was cordoned off, the college official said.

"We quickly contacted Joint Base officials, who directed us to the proper channels to help address this situation," said Capt. Michael Amboziak, acting police chief of Middlesex County College.

The military bomb disposal personnel arrived by 3:30 p.m., Madama said.

They examined the bomb, found no fuse, and began carefully excavating around it, Usher said.

The 3,200-acre Raritan Arsenal operated from 1917 to 1963 and was later taken over by Middlesex County College.

In the 1990s, empty shell casings were found on another area of the campus, which occupies only about 200 acres of the site.

"It's unusual to find [a bomb] this size," Usher said. "We used special slings and chains and the bucket of an excavator to pull it out of the ground."

The bomb was gingerly lifted to the back of a military vehicle about 8 p.m. and driven to the Joint Base, where, spokeswoman Christina Douglas said, the population was alerted to the planned explosion via social media and phone calls.

"The safest thing to do is to treat [the bomb] like it still had explosive filler until detonation," Usher said.

After applying C-4 explosive to the bomb, the disposal team took cover, then set off the bomb about 11 p.m. without incident, officials said.

"We take pride in being prepared for any scenario on and off base," said Master Sgt. Mario Kovach, 87th Civil Engineer Squadron flight superintendent.

"We train so we can not only support [Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst] but local communities, as well."