Robert Dornan: “And then, Mr. Speaker, the horror of millions of land mines. Please read this from the truth seeking Washington Times.…”

“And then, Mr. Speaker, the horror of millions of land mines. Please read this from the truth seeking Washington Times. The Horror of the Land Mines (By Tom Evans) American troops in Bosnia will face land mines. The folks at home who are sending the troops ought to be sure they understand what that means, Unfortunately, we as a nation have had all too much experience. Thirty years ago the Viet Cong frequently buried mines in populated areas where American troops walked. Troops were often funneled into columns by narrow rice paddy dikes and trails. The most commonly used enemy mine in my battalion's area of operations was called the 'Bouncing Betty.' It bounced waist-high before exploding. To teen-age American Marines and soldiers it was the most demoralizing type of mine. And it was American-made. We had supplied them to our allies, the South Vietnamese army, but the Viet Cong captured them. American Marines were forever bitter toward their allies for that. In the area we called the 'Street Without Joy,' a few miles northwest of the imperial capital city of Hue, mine detectors were rarely used on operations until somebody stepped on a mine. We assumed it was because the patrol just moved too slowly behind an engineer sweeping the long-handled dish along the ground. In fact, there as a joke in the Marine infantry. Question: What's the best mine detector the Marine Corps has? Answer: The Model PFC, one each.…”