Ground Scar at the Junction of Trails

On or about January 22, 2002, the EPA, the District of Columbia, the ACOE, and Restoration Advisory Board (RAB) members met with Sandra Sharpe, a current resident of the area, and toured the American University and seminary property. Sharpe described three concrete bunkers that she remembered from her childhood. She thought that two were in the vicinity of the American University athletic fields, bordering the driveway. These two concrete bunkers she remembered as being in the woods at American University. Understandably, locating them precisely was impossible because the woods no longer existed. Also, there was a question as to whether the bunkers were the same ones as were located on another property. Sharpe felt strongly that her bunkers were in a different location. 

She was able to locate the third bunker more precisely because it was within sight of her house. That one was on the grounds of the seminary. During the field tour, a large metallic anomaly was located directly over the area she pointed to as the concrete bunker on the seminary property. This confirmed the accuracy of Sharpe s information. Because of the burials of hazardous material and ordnance already found, Sharpe s information is highly relevant. Accordingly, the District of Columbia reviewed still photographs of the AUES and was able to locate one potential concrete bunker in the area described by Sharpe. 

The Corps already has a Gun Pit shown as POI43. This would approximate the location of Building 119, the Concrete Storage Pit, but not the Levens [sic] Gun Pit. It is unclear how the Corps arrived at its name but possibly it misread 119 for 19. In any event, the Shell Storage Pit needs to become a POI. 

In addition to the two concrete chambers on the AUES mentioned by Sharpe, building construction reports list several more storage pits, magazines, and so on. Previously, the District of Columbia only knew of three magazines, two near POI 20 and one at the southeastern comer of the American University. These magazines were never designated POIs but all three should be made POIs as well as any other magazines. 

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