Anchorage Memorial

The Anchorage War Memorial is a bronze monument commemorating the battles at the Anchorage Front Line in Alaska. Constructed on what was previously Theodore Roosevelt Island in the Potomac, it has withstood the elements for two centuries and was still standing by 2277. A sprawling underground installation was built under the base of the monument.

The facility contains kitchens and meat processing rooms to handle the 'products' as well as breeding 'pods' in the lower levels, possibly indicating that it doubled as a fallout shelter.

After the war, a group of wastelanders herded the emerging Mirelurk population into the facility, making them build a nest inside. Then, they used them as source of fresh meat, trading large quantities of it to passing traders, making a lot of money and upsetting Rivet City's position as the main supplier of edible food in the wastes. Eventually, a mercenary team was dispatched, but ended up releasing the Mirelurks who promptly killed everyone in the complex.

Directly to the North of Anchorage War Memorial is a Super Mutant camp with the fifth Keller Family Transcript, a Captive and 2 ammunition boxes (one is locked - easy) in the tent behind the 2 trucks. In one of the trucks is a copy of Pugilism Illustrated, a Scoped .44 Magnum on the floor and ammunition box and first aid box. Warning: Do not shoot at the trucks, the resulting explosion will kill the captive.

Random encounters can be generated at this location. Megaton refugees are commonly found here if you nuked the town. The Firelance encounter can occur here, but the resultant Alien Power Cells will scatter over a vast area, possibly landing in water or atop structures you can't climb. Even with Dogmeat it may not be possible to find all of them. If you are trying to get this encounter, it may be a good idea to try somewhere else, like Rockopolis.

Guide
There are four separate underground areas with distinct names that are part of this facility:
 * Anchorage Memorial Facility Bay: This area serves as a hub that connects the other three areas together.
 * Anchorage Memorial Facility: The living quarters and main workspace for the (now dead) wastelanders who ran the meat processing facility here.
 * Anchorage Memorial Office: A couple of offices with an entrance to a large underground space that serves as the mirelurk breeding ground. Lots of mirelurk egg sacs and a few mirelurks including a mirelurk king.
 * Anchorage Service Entrance: A small sewer area serving as a secondary breeding ground for the mirelurks. Also contains an entirely separate area that has what looks like a dining facility for the workers, including a large kitchen with many refrigerators and a well-stocked bar. Contains the utility room and a refrigerator with a secret compartment; both are initially inaccessible.

Mirelurks pervade the entire complex.

The refrigerator with the secret compartment is in the lowest level of the Anchorage Service Entrance (below the kitchen/bar) (A); it has a smaller interior than the others, which reveals a locked secret compartment (minimum of 5 Perception required to notice). The hidden compartment is locked (unpickable, key required), but the key can be found in the (also unpickable) Utility room in the sewer area of the Anchorage Service Entrance.

The door to the Utility room (B) is broken; the piece to repair it (Repair skill of 35 required) is in a locked floor safe under a table in the clinic of the Anchorage Memorial Facility (C); the safe also contains a copy of Dean's Electronics and can be unlocked by hacking the Average difficulty terminal just outside the clinic (Access codes for this are behind the Nuka-Cola machine on the floor in the clinic). There is also a copy of D.C. Journal of Internal Medicine on a table next to the safe.

Alternatively, with a Repair skill of 95 or higher the door can be repaired without the component from the safe. The Utility room contains the unique sledgehammer The Tenderizer, the Anchorage Stash key, a holotape note about the fridge compartment, a copy of U.S. Army: 30 Handy Flamethrower Recipes, a Nuka-Cola Quantum, and assorted common loot. Note that it's a good idea to make sure all Mirelurks in the area are dead before entering the Utility room or you might get cornered. The secret fridge compartment contains 300 Bottle Caps and a holotape called "Recipe - Mirelurk Cakes." The holotape serves no real purpose and you cannot actually make Mirelurk Cakes yourself.

Location
The best access to the Memorial is from the West via a heavily mined road. Early in the game, if you have already been to Super-Duper Mart, you can simply fast travel there, then walk down the West side of the river until you reach the road. Take note of the Metro signs just past the road and to the right. That is the Flooded Metro station which provides easy access to the Arlington Cemetery.

It is also possible to enter via a path from the East, but you will be immediately attacked by at least two Mirelurks.

Notable Loot (summary)

 * Dean's Electronics in safe in Facility Clinic (C).
 * D.C. Journal of Internal Medicine in Facility Clinic, on a table.
 * U.S. Army: 30 Handy Flamethrower Recipes, The Tenderizer and Nuka-Cola Quantum in Utility room (B) (see above).
 * Recipe - Mirelurk Cakes and 300 Bottle Caps in secret fridge compartment (A) (see above).
 * Three Pre-War Books in Wastelander hideout in Facility, west side top floor.

Quests
You will visit this location during Moira Brown's quest, The Wasteland Survival Guide, where she wants you to place an Observer unit into one of Mirelurk spawning pods, optionally avoiding killing any Mirelurks during the quest for a better reward.

Visiting the Memorial prior to the Mirelurk Observer quest for the Survival Guide allows the player to "thin the herd" of Mirelurks. Assuming the player goes through the Memorial's tunnels and kills most of the Mirelurks present just prior to accepting the quest, the Observer can be placed with a minimum of hassle.

Similarly, returning to the Memorial and hunting the Mirelurks after the quest has been successfully completed is also perfectly acceptable.

Alternatively, one can enter via the "Service Entrance" to the side, dash in to a nearby spawning pod, and run back out, without much hassle.

There are also 3 pre-war books in a small room directly to your right a little way ahead of entering the memorial via the door facing Wilhelm's Wharf.

Bugs

 * Remained in combat after killing the Super Mutant Master and Centaur, at the Mutant camp to the North of the War Memorial. When crouching it said "caution" even when no enemies were nearby (have 8 perception and looked around to check), was also unable to free the captive. I was able to use the bed in the tent and rested for 1 hour, after which I could free the captive but it still said caution when crouching (Note: Normally you cannot rest when enemies are nearby, even though it said I could not free the captive for that very reason!). [On XBOX360]