The U.S. Government Interagency Humanitarian Demining Strategic Plan states in
part that landmines affect almost every aspect of life in states recovering from conflict.
They maim or kill innocent civilians, obstruct emergency assistance, hamper agricultural
and economic development, and prevent refugees and displaced people from returning to
their homes. They also leave a legacy of disabled individuals. The U.S. Humanitarian
Demining Program (HDP) is a comprehensive effort supporting mine action initiatives to
include mine awareness, clearance of priority areas, training host country deminers,
reviewing and accelerating promising technologies, and medical and rehabilitative
assistance to survivors of landmine accidents. On 13 September 1993, the National Security
Council requested that the Department of State establish an Interagency Working Group on
Land Mines and Demining. The implementation of this directive resulted in the
establishment of the USG humanitarian demining program. The Interagency Working Group
(IWG) on Humanitarian Demining identifies which countries receive U.S. demining assistance
and manages U.S. resources committed to the program. IWG members include the National
Security Council, the Department of State, the Department of Defense, the United States
Agency for International Development, and the Central Intelligence Agency.
Map of Landmine Problem Countries
The components of the Department of Defense Humanitarian Mine Action Program
are mine awareness education, mine action center (MAC) development, civil-military
cooperation, and victim assistance. The mine action training, or
“train-the-trainer,” is the core of the program. More than 4,000 indigenous
trainers have benefited from this core program.
Department of Defense Humanitarian Mine Action Project Teams include Special Forces
"A" Detachments (Train the Trainer programs), Psychological Operations (PSYOP)
mine risk reduction education and mine awareness trainers, explosive ordnance demolition
(EOD) and computer specialists if required, and Civil Affairs teams to train the
indigenous national mine action organizations.
The goals of the program are to relieve the plight of civilian populations, enhance
regional stability, promote U. S. foreign policy interests, and improve economic
development.
The U. S. Department of Defense Humanitarian Demining Training Center is located at
Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri.
The U.S. Demining Initiative Fact Sheet released by the Bureau of Political
Military Affairs of the Department of State on 13 November 1997 says, "The United
States aims to greatly accelerate global humanitarian demining operations and assistance
efforts to end the plague of landmines posing threats to civilians through a U.S.-led
initiative to develop, marshal and commit the resources necessary to accomplish this goal
in cooperation with other nations by the year 2010.
Cost Comparison
An estimated 100 million landmines in more than 64 countries cause about 26,000
casualties each year. The United States has committed more than $153 million in
humanitarian demining programs since 1993 (leading the world in this respect) and spent
nearly $80 million in FY 1998 alone. However, at present levels of international effort,
it will take at least several decades to remove these non-self-destructing landmines from
the mine-affected countries of the world, further hampering economic development and
extending mine casualties long into the next century. To respond to this global
humanitarian catastrophe, the United States is calling for and will lead a global
campaign, the Demining 2010 Initiative, to eradicate all landmines which threaten civilian
populations by the year 2010…"
One third of the victims are children
According to Handicap International, "Three quarters of all mine victims
are civilians and one third are children under the age of fifteen. Mines claim an
average of one victim every twenty minutes (or over 26,000 per year)."
Landmines are a Global Crisis
In Hidden Killers 1998: The Global Landmine Crisis the U.S. State Department
gives an overview of the worldwide landmine problem.
As we near the end of the 20th century, the indiscriminate use of landmines has
become a tragic legacy of civil strife around the world. Landmines impede international
efforts to help war-torn countries regain their economic and social infrastructures.
Clearing landmines and the debris of war diverts billions of dollars that are desperately
needed for development projects. In October 1997, at the behest of President Clinton,
Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and Secretary of Defense William Cohen announced
that the United States would spearhead an international effort to accelerate cooperation
and resources for humanitarian demining worldwide to eliminate the threat of landmines to
civilians by the year 2010. The Demining 2010 Initiative has now become firmly imbedded in
the global humanitarian demining agenda.
Mine victims usually lose limbs
Landmines, particularly the anti-personnel types, represent a pandemic of global
proportions. Although the exact number of landmines is unknown, it was previously
estimated that as many as 80-110 million landmines are scattered within at least 70
countries around the world. There is a growing consensus in the international community
that the number may be lower, in the range of 60-70 million. The difference in these
estimate stems from the difficulty in getting an accurate count in the turmoil and
confusion of warfare, especially in developing countries. However, the key issue is not
the total number of landmine-affected countries, or the number of landmines in the ground.
Far more significant as indicators of the problem and as potential measures of success are
the number of landmine victims and the amount of land affected by landmines.
Cambodian Children in front of a Mine Field
In Africa, the most affected countries are Angola, Eritrea, Mozambique, Somalia
and the Sudan. It is believed that between 10 and 15 million landmines are in Angola
alone. The most affected countries in Asia are Cambodia and Afghanistan. In Europe, the
nations most mined are Bosnia-Herzegovina and Croatia. In Latin America Nicaragua is
heavily mined. Finally, in the Middle East the biggest problem is Iraq and Kurdistan. All
of these nations are the scene of long and protracted wars. Although there are no accurate
numbers, the total number of mines in Africa is believed to be about 22 million, Asia
about 39 million, Europe about 8 million, Latin America about 240,000 and the Middle East
about 50 million.
The U.S. Army Engineer School established the Countermine Training Support
Center (CTSC) at Ft. Leonard Wood, Missouri, in April 1996. The CTSC runs two different
resident courses. One course caters to conventional Army units and offers a five-day
program of instruction in Mine Awareness techniques. The other course is two weeks and
geared to prepare American Special Forces detachments to run a successful
"train-the-trainer" program in the specific country to which they deploy. The
CTSC coordinates its Mine Awareness program of instruction with Psychological Operations
organizations at Ft. Bragg, North Carolina. This coordination between Army conventional
forces and Special Forces facilitates the kind of linkage necessary to plan demining
missions that emphasize unity of effort.
In this article, we will mainly look at the U.S. Army mine awareness program
and show those leaflets and posters that the military produced to warn civilians of the
dangers of unexploded ordnance. Because there are hundreds, and perhaps thousands of mine
awareness leaflets, posters, handbooks and other publications, our plan is just to show 2
to 3 items from each country. In some special cases, (like the comic books mentioned
below) we will break the pattern because of the importance of the subject.
WORLD WAR II
Don’t get killed…
During WWII the United States produced dozens, perhaps hundreds of booklets, field
manuals, and other publications on mines and explosives. Here is a sample, War Department
Pamphlet 21-23, “Don’t get killed by Mines and Bobby Traps.” The pamphlet
describes and illustrates German and Japanese mines, grenades, and other explosives.
A German mine warning
pennant.
The WWII U.S. Military Intelligence Service SOLDIER'S GUIDE TO
THE JAPANESE ARMY, Special Series No. 27, dated 15 November 1944 says:
The Tape-Measure Mine
The most common Japanese land mine is the Type 93, or "Tape-Measure
Mine," so called because it resembles a rolled-up steel tape measure. The
mine weighs about 3 pounds and is 6 3/4 inches in diameter and 1 3/4 inches
thick. It is filled with 2 pounds of picric acid. In the center of its top
is a bronze plug which covers the fuse. There are loops on the casing to
permit suspension of the mine or drawing it across the path of a tank by
means of an attached cord. Pressures of from 70 to 200 pounds will activate
the mine; the sheer wire is adjusted to vary the pressure at which it will
be detonated. There is a safety cap on the upper end of the firing pin.
These mines usually are laid in patterns of diagonal rows 30 inches apart.
When landings were made on the beach at Tarawa, Gilbert Islands,
several anti-invasion mines were found arranged in a single straight row,
parallel to and 50 yards from the highwater mark on the beach. These mines
are hemispherical and are of all-welded construction. There are two handles
and two horns, and a central opening in the top which contains the booster
and safety switch. The horns contain vials of acid. When either horn is
bent, the acid vial is broken, permitting the acid to drop upon the plates
of a small battery which has a zinc cathode and a copper anode. A current of
sufficient amperage is generated to explode the charge which is in the
bottom chamber of the mine.
Booby Traps
Early examples of Japanese booby traps include the parasol type,
wherein opening the parasol broke an acid vial which, in turn, ignited the
detonating and ignition mixtures. A flashlight type was activated by
pressing the switch in the normal fashion. Another early and somewhat crude
type, intended primarily for incendiary action, employed a bottle which, if
shaken, brought sulfuric acid in contact with potassium chlorate in the
cork. The small explosion thus produced ignited benzene or kerosene
The Comic Book Connection
The U.S. Government and the United Nations joined with DC Comics, a division of
Time Warner Entertainment Co.,in 1996 to produce a special Superman comic book entitled Superman
- Deadly Legacy. The idea for the mine awareness comic book was sparked by a comment
by First Lady Hillary Clinton during her visit to Bosnia. She reviewed a mine awareness
coloring book for young children, and asked what was being done for the older children. It
was created to aid landmine awareness among children in the Former Yugoslavia and was
printed in both the Cyrillic alphabet used by Serbs and the Roman alphabet used by Croats
and Muslims. Half a million Superman books were shipped to Bosnia and Kosovo. Superman was
chosen to spread the message because "he is a citizen of the world". Text on the
back is:
Superman has come to help the children of Bosnia-Herzegovina! But even when he
can’t be here, you can keep yourself safe from landmines.
Lieutenant Colonel Nick Swayne was the liaison with DC Comics in New York City
tasked with the mine-awareness project that had the blessing and backing of then First
Lady Hilary Clinton. The military paid for the materials, ink and transportation, but
not the art or concept work. It supplied the photographs of Bosnians, local homes,
landscape and backgrounds and the comic book artists did the rest.
In regard to the comic book for Bosnia, UNICEF and the Mine Action Center lent their
endorsement to the project. They said that there are 130,000 copies of the comic in Latin
and Cyrillic, and 35,000 in English. There are also 35,000 copies of the poster in each of
the alphabets. The priority for distribution is to children in hospitals, orphanages,
refugee camps, and schools.
US Soldier passing out Superman mine awareness comic book
The Kosovo version of the comic book was released in the school system through UNICEF
and through non-governmental organizations (NGOs) operating in the area. Originally, the
Kosovo version of the comic book was designed for children in the refugee camps. The comic
book was designed to teach children to stay away from landmines and unexploded ordnance
(UXO), to recognize areas where mines may be located, and to take certain actions if they
find a mine. The comic book also encourages children to share their understanding of the
landmine threat with friends and family members and teaches them that deminers working in
their country are protecting them from dangerous landmines. The Bosnia-Kosovo version of
the comic book depicts Superman protecting two young children from mines, while the dog of
one child is severely injured. They meet a boy who has lost his legs, and later save a
girl who has wandered into deep grass. It is a wonderful joining of the military and
commercial sector to save lives.
A second comic book in Spanish was released for children in Latin America on 11
June 1998. It is entitled Superman and Wonder Woman - the Hidden Killer. The
Central American book is 32 pages long, compared to 10 pages for the Bosnia version. The
second book includes 24 pages of story and eight pages of activities targeting children
between 8 and 15. Text on the back is "Superman and Wonder Woman have come to help
the children of Central America! But even when they cannot be here, you can keep yourself
safe from landmines. This book tells of the story of brothers Miguel, Diego, and sister
Gabriella. One brother suddenly finds himself in a minefield. He is rescued by the
super-heroes, shown some mine-warning signs, and then introduced to a military deminer.
Later, Gabriella washing clothes in a stream also comes upon a mine. She is saved by
Wonder Woman. The children are shown signs and posters depicting different mines and meet
a child who has been injured. They then kick their soccer ball into an area that sets off
another mine. The book contains a number of mine warning stickers, and features a two-page
scene depicting a countryside with various signs and clues of hidden mine fields. The
reader is urged to place the stickers on those sites. It closes with a 10-point quiz and
the warning: "Spread the word: Mines Kill!" The comic books are distributed
through U.S. embassies, and presented to the Ministries of Education in Honduras,
Nicaragua and Costa Rica. A U.S. Southern Command Mine Awareness Team assists the host
ministries of education in the distribution. The initial printing was Six hundred fifty
thousand copies of the book, 560,000 in Spanish and 90,000 in English. Mine-awareness
posters based on the comic book, 170,000 in Spanish and 30,000 in English, are distributed
in Latin America. Similar posters were used in Bosnia campaign.
A third version of the comic book will be published in Portuguese for the
children of Angola, which the United Nations estimates has 15 million land mines. The
release date for the third comic book is unknown. "I can think of nothing more
rewarding than to know that Superman and Wonder Woman have leapt beyond the pages of the
comics to save real lives," said Jeanette Kahn, President of DC Comics. DC Comics
donated the use of the Superman and Wonder Woman characters and worked closely with the
Department of Defense and UNICEF to make sure that the stories and artwork would be
specific to the host countries.
It is worth mentioning that Wonder Woman was made an honorary United Nations ambassador
for the empowerment of women. In another victory for political correctness, she was
“fired” from the job in December, 2016, as a “skimpily dressed woman prone
to violence.”
The compliments for the comic books were not unanimous. One official on the
ground in Bosnia said:
I was the Chief of Information in Sarajevo Bosnia at the United Nations Mine Action
Centre for 18 months (1997-98). The comic book was brought there by US forces (KFOR) with
the intent to win hearts and minds. As a group, we determined that Superman (the comic)
gave the wrong messages. (1) If you find yourself in a mined area, Superman will fly in
and save you. (2) Retrace your foot steps out of a minefield. It was the decision of the
Mine Awareness Working Group that the Superman comic gave the wrong messages, and it was
stopped from further distribution. It was never field-tested to see if it was suitable!
It is interesting that the Superman comic, once again, tried to save the Balkans,
this time in Kosovo. I was the Chief Mine Information Officer at the time. This time it
has been field-tested. The results indicate that the Superman comic is not a suitable
medium for mine awareness education for children in the 7-9 age group, and with
appropriate supervision, the comic book is a suitable medium for mine awareness education
for children in the 10-14 age group. However, the Testing Board recommended that if the
comic is to be used in schools that, teachers can use them, hand them out in class, but
withdraw them at the end of the class.
It appears that DC Comics might have been moved by the plight of the children in
those nations where mines are still a hazard. About the same time that they published the
landmine awareness comic book for the military, they also published a graphic novel by
Dennis O’Neil in December 1996 entitled Batman: Death of innocents: the horror of
landmines. This story is meant to educate the American Public to the lunacy of
landmines. A reviewer on Amazon stated in part:
In "Batman: Death of Innocents", the Dark Knight takes on the tragic
horror of landmines and finds himself in the unusual position of being relatively helpless
against the scale of the problem. That scale is highlighted in the forward by Senator
Patrick Leahy and later Colonel David H. Hackworth, Jody Williams of the Vietnam Veterans
of America Foundation, and Jerry White of the Landmine Survivors Network. They tell of the
tens of millions of landmines deployed around the world, often active for decades after
their war is over.
The comic itself does not take a stand as “for” or “against”
the morality of any given war, using instead the fictitious country of Kravia as the main
ground for the story; it instead focuses on the horrendously indiscriminate killing of
landmines against anything that moves, and that, as Col. Hackworth notes, “can't tell
a tank from a tricycle.”
In the story itself, Batman is drawn into the conflagration of the Kravian civil war when
a Wayne Enterprises employee in Kravia working on an irrigation project is killed when his
car drives over a mine in the middle of the road…In Kravia we see the ruthlessness of
both sides in this one particular civil war, and the deep goodness and quiet courage of
those caught in the middle, including some people who risk everything to give aid to a
child….
[Note: Senator Leahy wrote a two-page text article entitled “The Innocent
Victims of Landmines”; Colonel Hackworth wrote a three-page article entitled
“Landmines, the Indiscriminate Killers”; Jody Williams wrote a 4-Page article
entitled “Landmines – We Must Ban Them Now” and Jerry White added a 3-page
article entitled “Landmine Victims need Your help.”]
Afghanistan
Leaflet AFDDGE depicts seven types of dangerous mines and grenades with a skull
and crossed bones in the background. The leaflet also appears as a small poster. The text
is "ATTENTION. Partnership of Nations forces are destroying unexploded ordnance and
weapons to keep the citizens of this region safe. There is no reason to be alarmed. For
your own safety, stay away! STAY AWAY." The code number of the leaflet poster is
AE1A-11-P3. A similar leaflet poster is coded AFD-DG2. It shows the seven explosives and
the skull and crossed bones. The leaflet text is:
Danger! Unexploded ordnance can kill! Do not touch! Help us keep you
safe.
AFDGG1
Another mine leaflet is in bright red to attract attention, shows a skull, and
crossed bones at the left and six mines at the right. The text is:
Stop and turn away. Stay out! Mines. Help us keep you safe!
AFD94
A third leaflet shows a group of mines in the desert. The text on the front is:
AL QAIDA, YOUR ESCAPE ROUTES ARE MINED.
The back shows two burning trucks. The text on the back is:
YOU ARE TRAPPED.
There were a number of different mine awareness leaflets used during Operation Enduring
Freedom In Afghanistan. One series was in the form of posters and coded "AFG."
The AFG products are larger than leaflets, too big to be dropped from aircraft and usually
disseminated as handouts. Some examples of the series are:
AFG15
AFG15 is a full color poster that depicts an Afghan Father and son and various
explosive devices. The back has been checkered to make it harder for an enemy to place his
own propaganda there. The text is:
Danger. Do not touch mines. Report mine locations to your local
authorities.
AFG16
AFG16 is also a full color handout that depicts an Afghan father and son. Eight types
of explosives are "X"ed at bottom. The back has been checkered to make it harder
for an enemy to place his own propaganda there. We know that 30,000 of these handbills
were originally printed and 20,400 were disseminated by Tactical PSYOP Teams in Kabul,
Herat and Kunduz. The message is short and sweet:
Do not touch the mines
AFG17
AFG17 is a full color handout that depicts a skull and crossed bones at top and ten
types of explosives below. The back has been checkered to make it harder for an enemy to
place his own propaganda there. 800 of these handbills were disseminated in Kabul, Herat
and Kunduz. The text is:
Danger!
Mine
Report the location of mines to the local authorities.
AFC007
AFC007 is a full-sized poster 11 x 17-inches in size. It has all the ominous signs, the
red color of danger, the skull and crossed bones, six explosives, one covered with the
“prohibited symbol,” and warning text in both Dari and Pashto. The text is:
Do Not Touch!
Mine!
Report the locations of mines to the responsible officials.
AFG19
Mine handout AFG19 depicts five injured Afghan children surrounded by 13 explosives.
The short text in Pashtu and Dari is:
The main cause of death
Stay back! Be Safe!
AFG-A1-3026 D
The above mine handout depicts an injured Afghan being treated by Coalition medics. The
text is:
The Afghan Islamic Transitional Government and Coalition forces want
you to be safe.
The back of the handbill shows an injured arm, four explosives and the text:
If you see any of these, do not touch them.
Leaflet AFH05aaHB3259
This leaflet was printed about 2006. It is printed in English because it was
found in a “product book,†used by American commanders to select leaflets
they wanted to use in their areas of responsibility. The actual leaflets
would be printed in one of the major languages of Afghanistan, Pashtu, or
Dari.
Other mine leaflets were distributed to Afghan refugees who were returning home from
Pakistan. One such item showed 10 different types of explosives in full color on a
standard leaflet (about 3 x 6 inches) in a vertical format.
Afghan Children Learning the Dangers of Explosives
Afghan Children Examine Mine Warning Posters
Afghan Mine Education Awareness Class
PSYOP trooper kneels by unexploded ordnance that was cleared by the U.S.
military as a sign of friendship and to protect the children of Afghanistan.
The Soviet PFM-1 anti-personnel mine.
Michael Yon's “Reports from Afghanistan” depicts one the Soviet PFM-1
antipersonnel mines. During their invasion, the Soviets had indiscriminately littered the
Afghan countryside with a myriad of different mines. One of the most common is the PFM-1.
This mine doesn't look like a weapon. It is small and meant to be picked up and played
with. You can fold one of its wings, clicking it back and forth. Children are especially
vulnerable to these mines.
An Afghan child shows where his hand was blown off due to setting off a mine that was
placed in an orchard near his home during a mission led by U.S. Army soldiers assigned to
the 4th Infantry Division, in Malajat, Afghanistan. 8th PSYOP Battalion troops attached to
the division gathered information from the local population and distributed psychological
operations products.
Deck of Mine Awareness Cards
Along with posters and leaflet, the CounterMine Identification Training
(CIT) Program distributed a deck of Mine Awareness cards in Afghanistan which showed
images of 36 antipersonnel mines, 28 antitank mines and assorted booby traps and other
unexploded ordnance.
The 345th psychological Operations Company out of Dallas, Texas, supported the 3rd and
7th Special Forces Groups. Seven tactical PSYOP teams were deployed throughout Afghanistan.
Team 2-3 “Gator” was based in Mazar-E-Sharif in Northern Afghanistan.
It was responsible for a variety of missions for the Special Forces Command and the
Joint Psychological Operations Task Force (JPOTF). One PSYOP sergeant who went under
the pseudonym “Zoolander” told me in regard to landmine operations:
I was responsible for mine awareness and the point of contact for the North
Afghanistan region. We disseminated over 60,000 PSYOP mine awareness posters and leaflets
during my tenure there. We worked with a number of local Afghans and other
non-governmental organizations and I personally distributed posters and gave classes in
mine awareness to school children. Some of the organizations that we worked with were the
British Hazardous Areas Life-Support Organization Trust, United Nations mine teams, Swiss
demining teams and Canadian Mine Groups. Mr. Akbar, my local Afghan contact, was
beneficial in distributing leaflets and posters equally over my team's area of
responsibility, about 150 x 300 kilometers.
Army Specialist Josh Brimm, assigned to the 307th Psychological Operations company,
10th PSYOP Battalion, plays a counter improvised explosive device message on a loud
speaker during a mission with U.S. soldiers assigned to the 4th Infantry Division, to
patrol the villages around Malajat, Afghanistan, on 3 June 2011. The purpose of the
mission is to gather information from the local population and to distribute Psychological
Operations products.
On 20 June 2002 the British handed over the position of lead nation of the
International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) to Turkey. During the time that Great
Britain was the lead nation, a number of leaflets and publications were produced by the 15
(UK) Psychological Operations Group for the Afghan people. One full-color flyer that
addresses unexploded ordnance depicts a mortar shell. The text in Pashto and Dari is,
"Explosions at Kabul Airport. ISAF is currently carrying out the destruction of
unsafe weapons and explosives for your future safety. You will be hearing a number of loud
bangs/explosions in the area of the airport during the next three to four weeks. There is
nothing to worry about." The words "Help and co-operation" are in English
at the bottom of the leaflet.
In 1994 the two warring sides in the Angolan civil war signed the Lusaka peace accords
and subsequently have slowly retreated from their entrenched positions. However, due to
the large number of land mines Angola will remain a country afflicted by the scourge of
war for decades to come. Estimates of the number of Angolan land mines range between 10
and 20 million which equates to at least 1 to 2 land mines for every person in the
country. U.N. estimates put the number of Angolan amputees resulting from the silent
killers at 70,000. Land mines have a devastating effect upon the environment by
restricting the movement of people, deterring farming, disrupting economies, and killing
and mutilating many innocent men, women, and children. Aided by the United States and
other donors, Angolan demining teams have cleared over nine million square meters of land,
841,887 square meters of it in 2001 alone.
This deck of mine identification cards was issued to U.S. troops working to find and
destroy mines in the African country of Angola. This deck contains 55 cards; 1 acronyms, 1
all-purpose mine, 20 anti-personnel mines, 19 anti-tank mines 9 booby traps and 8
unexploded ordnance (UXOs).
As in almost every war the United States fights, mine awareness cards are prepared to
protect the troops. They are usually given away as training aides to any member who
requests them from Supply. There are 57 cards in this deck, depicting anti-tank mines,
anti-personnel mines, fuses, booby-traps, etc. The anti-personnel card above shows an
anti-personnel mine of the type the United States calls a “Claymore.”
This large poster is
printed on both sides so that the proper side could be exposed according to
the language in the area where it was used. The poster depicts various
rocket shells, landmines, grenades, and anti-personnel mines. The text on
both sides is:
This is a different kind of explosives-warning for children. It is
in the form of a calendar with various cartoons interspaced with comments on
explosives safety. Some of the Comments are:
Between four and six million land
mines were laid in Bosnia, Herzegovina, Croatia and Kosovo during the recent conflict in
the former Yugoslavia. For almost four years, the people fought one another in a cruel
war. Bosnia alone was peppered with at least thirty types of antitank and antipersonnel
mines, which were responsible for nearly one-third of all casualties. Both mine maps
and signage were either incomplete or nonexistent, primarily because the inexperienced
personnel used to seed the fields with mines did not bother to plot what and where the
devices were positioned. The situation became more complex as front lines shifted, and
each opposing force laid new minefields or overlapped existing ones. There are mines
planted in ball fields, parks, roads and villages. In Bosnia alone, some 16,000 minefields
have been identified. Thousands more of the hidden killers have not been located.
Estimates made after three years of warfare suggested that more than 750,000 mines were in
over 30,000 areas.
Besides these conventional explosives, Bosnia was littered with booby traps. These
devices were usually located in the doors and windows of abandoned houses. Sometimes small
explosives were placed inside innocuous objects, such as soda cans or paper bags, and left
in public areas for passing civilians to pick up.
One of the many mine awareness products developed and distributed to to
promote land mine awareness was this child's backpack which US and NATO troops handed out
to Kosovar Albanian school children.
One would think with the wars in Bosnia, Serbia and Croatia, any mine fields would be
marked with the local languages. Since the wars in the Middle East and the movement of
millions of people, vast numbers of Muslims have migrated to Eastern Europe. This Croatian
sign warns that they are nearing a mine field.
Sometimes Americans have to be careful with the images that they use on leaflets. The
leaflet above shows a young boy studying a mine and the text warns him to stay far away
from such things. In is standard procedure to show PSYOP images and text to the local
inhabitants to acquire feedback on how the message is perceived. An interesting anecdote
was told about this image by Lieutenant-Colonel Ayers who oversaw the landmine awareness
program in Cambodia. He pre-tested the image that depicted a boy squatting over a mine
that he was poking with a stick. The result of interviews was surprising:
There are a great number of leaflets and posters prepared for use in Cambodia. Some of
them are: An 8 1/2 x 11-inch red cardboard poster showing a skull and crossed bones. An 8
1/2 x 11-inch poster depicting a young child about to touch armaments on the ground, with
four explosives in frames around the child. A 9 1/4 x 6 ½-inch paper poster showing 13
mines in full color. A 9 1/4 x 6 ½-inch paper poster showing 9 mines in full color. A 9
1/4 x 6 ½-inch paper poster showing 18-mine warning signs in full color. A 9 1/4 x 6
½-inch paper poster depicting five steps to safe walking in full color. A sheet of
16-gummed stickers in red and black saying, "don't touch mines."
There are also a number of booklets. One is entitled "LAND MINE AWARENESS
PROGRAM" on the front and depicts a POMZ-2 mine. The inside has pictures and
Cambodian text. The booklet explains how one should walk on paths, step in footsteps,
recognize mine signs and posters, and stay out of wooded unmarked area.
A February 2002 report stated that 1 in 250 Cambodians (40,000 people) have lost a limb
to a landmine. In 1998 there were 2,046 casualties from landmines and unexploded ordnance.
In the first 11 months of 2001 there were 764 casualties. Since 1992 140,000
anti-personnel mines, 3,000 anti-tank mines, and 650,000 explosives have been cleared from
90 million square meters of land.Three quarters of all mine victims are civilians and one
third are children under the age of fifteen. According to Handicap International,
“mines claim an average of one victim every twenty minutes (or over 26,000 per year).
Cambodia has more mines than children - two for every child.”
The US State Department reported in May 2003 that cartoon characters Bugs Bunny and
Daffy Duck will be used in public service messages educating Cambodians about land mines.
The State Department's Bureau of Political-Military Affairs and the U.S. Agency for
International Development are developing the messages, which will be delivered in Khmer,
the country's official language. The topics will be "mine risk education" and
"social reintegration" for land mine accident survivors. The ads feature
"Rith," a Cambodian land mine survivor, created by Warner Bros. for the project.
The State Department said Bugs Bunny was chosen because "the rabbit is considered a
kind and intelligent creature in Cambodian culture." Land mines in Cambodia kill or
injure at a rate of more than two people each day, according to the most recent numbers
reported by the Cambodian Red Cross. In 2001, 173 people were killed and 640 were injured.
Although there was other activity going on at the same time, in
1994 the 8th PSYOP Battalion was ordered to take part in a humanitarian
de-mining campaign in Cambodia. The lead PSYOP team was from B Company of
the 8th PSYOP Battalion led by Major Wayne Deneff. The lead Non-commissioned
officer was Sergeant Lem Gray with Specialist Jeff Hood and Sergeant
Snowden. Bravo Company would send several more members on three-month
rotations into the country through Thailand. The gummed label above was
drawn by Specialist Jeff Hood who was a Chinese linguist/interrogator and a
fine illustrator. Specialist Matthey Reilly was video/photo and trainer on
that team and taught graphic design to the Cambodians using the Thai
language. Alpha Company of the 8th PSYOP Battalion sent Captain Scott Main,
Sergeant Sullivan, and Specialist Elliot to observe for 45 days and report
as part of a team that would go to Ethiopia and Eretria in several months to
execute a similar mission. The
Special Forces Mission lead was 1/1 Operation Detachment Alpha 116 out of
Okinawa. Lead for the theater was Special Operations Command Pacific.
Supporting the United Nations troops on the ground were Canadian
Army engineering officers teaching and designing programs. Information and
products were cross referenced from variety of Non-Government Organizations
(NGOs) that performed Humanitarian De-mining around the world. This was a
United Nations initiative to help restore land for safe use. This was one of the few places were the NGOs worked without
reservation with the U.S. Army and regularly shared information. The former
dictator Pol Pot who ruled Cambodia from 1975 to 1979 was attempting to
stage a comeback and become a major player in Cambodian politics and was
targeting westerners and especially U.S. Soldiers. The Australian Special
Air Service would later capture him several months after our departure and
turn him over very quietly to the Khmer Government for trial.
President Clinton had decreed that all US service members would go
into country unarmed. Because of the unrest, this was a problem. Weapons
were a delicate subject. There was a rumor that some friendly Hmong
might have offered to help and offered intelligence if needed. They were
extremely helpful. The Bulgarians were not so helpful. One person from their
Embassy made a concerted effort to contact U.S. Soldiers. He kept inviting
them to their Embassy for cocktail parties and to meet young women. Some of
the soldiers, although recognizing the threat, still wanted to attend. They
were told “no,†and reminded about the Eastern Bloc countries and Soviet
Surrogates. The women especially were a dangerous trap. The troops were told
to stay with the Canadians and Australians they saw regularly or go to the
approved Bar.
Digital maps and seasonal water levels and satellite imagery were
all included as part of the workup for a national mine-awareness and removal
program. The Forerunner to Grave digger, a satellite imagery program,
was used here. Grave digger was a satellite imagery program that portrayed
what was on the ground. U.S. national agencies would translate and dumb down
to pictures and 10-digit grids (Several ex-members of the battalion wrote
this narration and there was some question about the maps). The maps would
show objects on the ground as water receded. For Cambodia it was a seasonal
tool best used in the dry season. It was quite helpful in locating
minefields and UXOs on the ground and then the Cambodian Deminers trained by
the Operational Detachments would mark the areas and then, meter by meter
clear it of mines. During the several years that followed they had one
causality. He lost a foot but was back to work in a week.
Mined sections of land were reported by locals to the government
and then annotated and marked on a computer tabletop and prioritized for
landmine removal. B Company of the 8th PSYOP Battalion, 4th PSYOP Group,
developed a series of Training aids, incorporating existing mine models,
marking kits, and information programs for reporting and marking mine
positions to the appropriate authorities. They assisted Special Forces
Operational Detachment Alpha 116 to teach the actual classes and the
teaching of local NGOs on how to report, mark and request aid to remove
mines. Children’s educational
programs were put in place. We observed the kids walking in front of the
oxen tilling a field looking for mines. One child was killed by a mine and
this was observed by Specialist Elliot.
When Argentine forces invaded the Falkland Islands in April 1982, they planted an
estimated 20,000 antipersonnel and 5,000 anti-vehicle mines to protect their positions
against the advancing British task force which recovered the Islands by the following
June. Anywhere between 8 and 10 thousand mines still remain.
The Argentines did provide the British with detailed maps of the locations, yet many of
the mines have shifted with the soft peat ground making it difficult to remove them.
The US invasion of Haiti to uphold Democracy was over almost before it began. As a
result, mines were not a great danger. However, there was some unexploded ordnance on the
ground. As a result, the US invasion of Haiti to uphold Democracy was over almost before
it began. Therefore, mines were not a great danger. However, there was some unexploded
ordnance on the ground. As a result, the US distributed an unexploded ordnance-warning
leaflet that reminded the children of Haiti not to pick up odd items found on the ground.
IRAQ
1. OPERATION DESERT STORM
Iraqi Mines in Kuwait
The photographs above depict mines laid along the desert and the sea coast of Kuwait
by the Iraqi
occupying troops. The photos are from the personal collection of my good
friend Adel al Yousifi.
The set of postcards he produced are titled Destruction Caused by the
Iraqi Invasion of Kuwait 90-91.
The two cards above are both titled
"Mined Fields."
Mined Beaches
During the 1991 Operation Desert Storm campaign there were several postwar
consolidation leaflets and posters that featured a mine awareness theme.
Land Mines used by Iraqi Forces – Bulletin No. 4
Several
booklets were prepared by the United States to help the troops identify
enemy mines.
Two pages from the booklet
This 12-page
booklet from the Foreign Intelligence group depicts 20 land mines known to
be used by Iraq.
The first leaflet depicts a skull and crossed bones over 3 water-tower minarets. A
bright red explosion is pictured at the top of the leaflet with the word:
Warning.
The same 3-line text is on the front and the back:
Warning. Please do not touch explosive equipment. Please inform the
authorities or the Allied forces immediately.
A similar leaflet is almost identical except that there are now six lines of text. Once
again the leaflet depicts a skull and crossed bones over 3 water-tower minarets and a
bright red explosion the word:
Warning.
The text on this leaflet is:
Warning. Don't touch anything suspicious that encourages your curiosity such as
radios, cans, hand bags, and mechanical machines. They may explode when touched. Report
all strange objects to the authorities or Coalition Forces immediately.
A small 5.97 x 8.32-inch leaflet-poster depicts nine different mines and explosives.
This item is found on cardboard, standard 20-pound paper, and very thin paper. It has the
same message in English on one side and Arabic on the other:
Stop. These items kill!! Do not touch. Contact the police or the
military.
The Coalition printed a number of full-sized posters. All of the following items are
blank on the back. One poster is oversized at about 20 x 28-inches. The poster was used in
both Operation Desert Storm and Operation Iraqi Freedom. The text in English and Arabic
is:
The danger of Explosives. No matter the size, no matter the shape, your life they
will take. Do not touch or move. Report suspicious items immediately to the military or
civil authorities.
The poster is covered with the depictions of various minds and explosives. There are
about 45 images in all, some of the same objects from different angles and in open or
closed positions. The poster seems to be coded 1361-04 and has the comment in Arabic and
English at the bottom right:
National Guard Printing Press.
The Coalition also printed a series of three standard sized posters 9.50 x 13.60-inches
in size. They are all just a sketch with some red on each poster to highlight it and draw
attention.
The first depicts a hand reaching for a grenade on the ground. The
"prohibited" symbol is over the hand in red. The Arabic text on the poster is:
Danger!!! Don't try to touch or move any strange object because it could explode or
blow up at any time. Try to report to the authorities or the military when you find any
strange object.
The second poster depicts stylized divers covered by the "prohibited" symbol.
The text in English and Arabic is:
Danger. Do not enter beach area. Unexploded ordnance.
The final poster simply has a red ‘prohibited" symbol. Arabic text is:
Danger! Do not enter. Unexploded ordnance.
The British UXO "Memory Aide."
At the end of Operation Desert Storm the British Explosive ordnance Disposal Cell in
Kuwait City produced a 4-fold printed sheet entitled "UNEXPLODED ORDNANCE IN
KUWAIT." It is printed in red on white paper and depicts and warns the populace of
the dangers of the explosives still littering the area. A map of Kuwait, the great seal of
the United Kingdom, the insignia of various U.K. EOD units, a stylized map and a
caricature of the three water towers that are a symbol of Kuwait are on the front. When
opened, the sheet depicts 19 illustrations of various types of mines and other ordnance
and data on each. For instance, Two mortar rounds are depicted with the text,
"MORTARS. Mostly gray or green. Watch out for loose propellant rings." Directly
below the mortars, two projectiles are depicted with the text, "OTHER PROJECTILES.
Assorted tank and artillery rounds, loose and boxed. Remember that fuses detached from
rounds still have explosive content." The back fold of the form is "If you find
any of these or similar, follow the 'Sandi' rule. Stop. Assess the area for more. Note and
mark. Draw back the way you came. Inform EOD through staff. Sandi says, 'Stay Alive -
don't touch.' Printed by TACIPRINT 19 Topo Sqn RE (Gulf)."
2. OPERATION PROVIDE COMFORT
At the end of the 1990-1991 Persian Gulf War the Coalition was faced with caring for
the Kurds in the north of Iraq. Saddam Hussein had terrorized and attacked the Kurds for
years and the area was heavily mined. The United States set up refugee camps and the Kurds
were invited to leave their hiding places and return home.
As part of the Combined Task Force (CTF) Provide Comfort, elements of the 6th
Psychological Operations Battalion deployed from Ft. Bragg and provided PSYOP support to
the Kurds. Leaflets and posters were prepared to show them the safest way through the
mountains to the camps. There are at least five leaflets and one pointee-talkee card that
featured the theme of landmine awareness.
The first leaflet is similar to the leaflet used in Iraq. It depicts nine mines and
explosives and identical text in Arabic on one side and Kurdish on the other. The text is:
Stop! Don't touch these things. Call the authorities.
There are two variations of this leaflet. In one, the message is also typewritten in
English below the Arabic or Kurdish text. This leaflet is about 6 x 9 inches and all black
and white.
A second 6 x 9 inch black and white leaflet pictures a group of Kurds walking along a
mountain trail. The front and back are identical except for the language. One Kurd has
wandered off the trail and set off a land mine. The text in Arabic and Kurdish, with
English subtitles typed underneath is:
Danger - Mines - Stay on the main roads!
A third 9 x 11 inch cardboard leaflet shows the vignette above on one side (Kurd
walking off trail) and a map of the main roads, showing way stations and food distribution
points on the back. The message on the front in Kurdish and Arabic is:
Danger - Mines - Stay on the main roads!
Besides the map on the back, there is a brief message in Arabic and Kurdish:
Danger! mines may be located off the road!
The fourth mine warning leaflet is 11 x 9 inches on blue cardboard. The front
duplicates the front and back of the leaflet showing the Kurd walking off the trail with
the Arabic language leaflet on the left and the Kurdish language leaflet on the right. The
text as before is:
Danger - Mines - Stay on the main roads!
The back depicts a map similar to the leaflet above, but with symbols for gas, water,
food and medical, and again bears the text:
Danger! mines may be located off the road!
The fifth leaflet depicts a skull and crossed bones at the upper left and an explosion
at the lower right. The text is identical on both sides, one in Arabic, one in Kurdish:
Danger! Minefield. Stay away from this area. Danger!
CTF Provide Comfort Language Card
The pointee-talkee card is about 4 1/4 x 5 1/2 inches in size. The title of the small
yellow card is "CTF Provide Comfort Language Card - Minefields." One side bears
Arabic text with English translations; the other side bears Kurdish text. Some of the
questions and comments on the card are:
Have you seen any evidence of minefields?
Can you show us where they are?
If you have any information on minefields, please identify yourself to humanitarian
team members.
In regard to the problem of mines and munitions in Iraq, the United States Department
of State says in a fact sheet from the Bureau of Political-Military Affairs, Office of
Humanitarian Demining programs:
Before Operation Iraqi Freedom, an estimated 10-15 million landmines were deployed
in Iraq, dating from conflicts as far back as World War II. Indeed, Iraq is considered one
of the most mine-affected nations in the world. The United States Central Command
(USCENTCOM) set up procedures to identify minefield locations and established mechanisms
to transfer unclassified data from the military to various civil mine action entities.
Over 2,500 minefields, 2,200 unexploded ordnance (UXO) locations, and thousands of
abandoned munitions sites have been identified; and more are found on a daily basis.
British Sergeant Major Nick Pettit speaks before a group of Iraqi school
boys on the dangers of land mines and unexploded ordnance during a mine awareness
presentation at the Saddam Modern Secondary school in Basra, on May 16, 2003. Excess
ammunition and weapons abandoned by Iraqi forces are being found all over Iraq, posing a
constant threat in populated areas to civilians, especially children.
3. Operation Iraqi Freedom
Improvised
Explosive Devices used against Coalition Troops in Iraq
IZC-4005
One of the serious problems for United States troops during the
consolidation phase of Operation Iraqi Freedom was the vast amount of unexploded ordnance
in Iraq. Numerous leaflets, handouts and posters were produced to make the Iraqi people
aware of the danger of mines and unexploded ordnance and asking them to report such
explosives so that explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) personnel could disarm them.
One example of such a handout is IZC-4005 which depicts an array of mines, grenades,
and various artillery shells and the text:
DANGER!
Stay away and report all mines and unexploded ordnance to Coalition Forces. They
will kill.
Front & back leaflet IZG-053a
IZG-053a is a full color poster-leaflet about 5 1/2 x 8 1/2 inches). The front depicts
a chessboard with the faces of smiling Iraqis and various explosives on the board. The
back depicts explosives on the ground with hints on how to mark them. The text is:
DANGER
Do not touch mines Landmines are not games!
If you locate a landmine: Mark the area from a safe distance with stones painted
red and white; If paint is not available, mark the area with stones pointing toward the
mine; Remember the location and keep others away; Notify local authorities or Coalition
forces.
Handbill IZG-059
The U.S. Army
is always sensitive to children and civilians being killed or injured by
mines they cannot identify and sometimes pick up or walk on. As a result, in
about every war the United States takes part in there are a great number of
mine warning leaflets and handbills. IZG-059 is a full-color handbill about
5.5 x 8.5-inches in size that depicts six different explosives, a child's
hand holding a landmine covered by a "prohibited" symbol, and a red triangle
“mine sign†with a skull and crossed bones. The back is checkered so the
enemy cannot use it. The text is
DO NOT TOUCH
Report the location of mines and other unexploded ammunition to local
authorities.
Handbill IZG-059a
IZG-059a is a
full-color handout that depicts 9 different explosives and a child's hand
holding a landmine covered by a “prohibited†symbol. The back is checkered
so the enemy cannot use it. The text on IZD-059a is:
Unexploded ordnance
Report the locations of mines and other unexploded ammunition to local
authorities
Leaflet IZG9238
This leaflet is a warning against Iraqi insurgent improvised explosives. The text on
the front and back is:
Those who manufacture explosives do not care who is killed. Their only aims are
terrorism and oppression.
Improvised explosives results in the wounding or killing Iraqi children. You are the
key to stop these violent acts. Tell the Joint Forces or Iraqi Police about improvised
explosives and those who make them.
IZG9251
This leaflet is clearly designed for children and the vignette is drawn in a very
childish comic-book manner. An Iraqi child points to explosives on the ground at the
right. At the left an American soldier warns him of the danger. The leaflet is identical
on both sides.
The text at the right is:
DANGER!!!
Attention Children
The text at the left is:
These are not toys!! Leave them where found. Tell an adult so they can inform Iraqi
Security forces in your area.
IZG-4018
This handout is in the form of a comic on the front and back. The front has six
panels with an Iraqi child seeing a mine and being warned about its danger by a soldier:
I wonder what that is?
Wait! Stop! That is a very dangerous UXO.
What’s a UXO? A UXO is unexploded ordnance which is a bomb that hasn’t
exploded yet.
What should I do if I see one?
Mark it and report it to a Coalition soldier like me. We will then make the area
safe for you and your friends.
Thank you.
On the back of the handbill a soldier points at ten UXOs and says:
Mark all unknown objects, mines and unexploded ordnances 300 meters away. Report
location and how ordnance was marked to Coalition forces.
These items should be considered very dangerous.
We are here for your safety.
IZD-4044
This leaflet is not centered and was likely
discarded as printer’s waste, but it is important because it warns the
Iraqis not to touch explosives they might run across. The front and back are
identical and show various landmines and a hand grenade. The text is:
Do not touch Mines
Notify the local authorities of the locations of mines and other unexploded
ordnance
Handout IZG-4630a
An example of what might happen to a child that touches an explosive is depicted in
handout IZG-4630a. The front of the handbill depicts two forms of cluster bomblets (also
known as air-delivered mines or air-delivered grenades) and the text:
WARNING!
If you see this or anything that resemble bombs or military unexploded ordnance
anywhere
DO NOT TOUCH IT!
Inform Coalition Forces immediately if you have found such and stay away until it
has been safely removed.
The back of the handbill depicts a young Arab boy whose leg has been blown off. The
text is:
Keep away from bomb-like objects and unexploded ordnance
DO NOT PLAY WITH IT!
For all parents, teach your children caution and knowledge about bombs and
unexploded ordnance!
If you find any unexploded ordnance notify Coalition Forces immediately.
To reduce deaths and injuries from mines and unexploded ordnance, the 315th Tactical
Psychological Operations Company designed handbills and posters illustrating the various
types found throughout Baghdad. Even children could compare the drawings to objects they
found in the streets and recognize the danger.
Cluster Bomblet on the Ground
Cluster Munitions or Cluster Bombs are air-dropped or ground-launched munitions that
eject a number of smaller sub-munitions or “bomblets.” The most common types are
intended to kill enemy personnel and destroy vehicles. After Desert Storm when I was at
Ft. Bliss there were a about three dozen young American soldiers awaiting punishment due
to their picking up and bringing home items such as these bomblets as souvenirs. It got so
bad at one stage that the Army assigned some explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) troops to
the local post office to check incoming baggage from returning Desert Storm troops.
Americans love their souvenirs!
Iraqi school children hold anti-mine flyers handed out
by American PSYOP troops. Notice the hand with the "X"
indicating that the objects in the pictures should not be touched.
Australian Leaflet IZL-081
Australian leaflet IZL-081 depicts over a dozen armaments, shells, grenades, mines and
other explosives and the text:
Danger
You should not pick up or play with unexploded mines or weaponry
which is on the ground.
These warning leaflets to children and adults are almost always dropped in the
consolidation and government-building aspect at the end of a war, and the fact that the
code number is so high indicates that it was probably dropped during the late occupation
period.
The following handout was prepared by the British 15 (UK) PSYOP Group as part of their
explosives and mine warning operations in and around Basra in 2004. It was originally
prepared in Arabic and coded P.146 at the lower left corner. This is a translated
file copy acquired by researcher Lee Richards.
The front of this handout depicts the back of the legs of an Iraqi lying on his
stomach. The legs have been peppered by shrapnel and are being treated by a medical
person. The text on the front is:
DON'T LET THIS HAPPEN
DON'T PICK UP AMMUNITION
The back of the handout depicts four different types of dangerous ammunition and
explosives and warns the Iraqis not to touch or disturb any of them. The text is:
DON'T PICK UP!!
DON'T PICK UP!!
LEAVE the AMMUNITION and INFORM the IRAQI Security Forces, the IRAQI Army or
Multi-National Forces and WE will take care of it as soon as possible.
British designed mine awareness T-shirt
T-shirts, like the one shown above, were given away in Iraq by British EOD (Explosive
Ordnance Disposal Teams) in South Eastern Iraq, near Basrah, to try to reduce the
casualties to civilians from unexploded ordnance (UXO). The T-shirt image is based on a
British PSYOP poster.
ISRAEL
Druze children pass Israeli army signs warning of a minefield on their
way
home from school in Majdal Shams in the Golan Heights.
(Photo Lior Mizrahi / FLASH90)
The war-torn state of Israel contains over 37,000 acres of minefields, including fields
laid by Syria and Jordan. Officials said the private companies it employs have cleared
some 30,000 mines to date, including in minefields near Eilat, south of the Dead Sea, and
in the Golan. At the current speed of removing the mines, it is estimated that it could
take 50 to 60 years to disarm them all. The Mine Clearing Authority works separately from
the Israel Defense Force, which is also at work clearing minefields. In 2013, Corporal Roi
Alphi, from the Combat Engineering Corps, was killed when a mine exploded as he worked
with his colleagues to clear a minefield in the Golan Heights. The mine that killed Alphi
was an antitank mine, the M15.
KOREA
Korean
Mine warning Sign
The Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), stretches in Korea for more than a mile on either side of
the 160-mile long border dividing the two Koreas. Neither South Korea (Republic of Korea)
nor North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) has signed the 1997 Mine Ban
Treaty. The United States has not joined either but it has banned its use of antipersonnel
landmines, except on the Korean Peninsula due to its “unique circumstances.” The
DMZ already contains more than a million landmines, some laid as long ago as the Korean
War, which ended in 1953. It is unclear where many are laid as they can shift from their
original location in heavy rains and flooding, moving downstream into agricultural land
where they have harmed farmers and other victims.
GTA 5-10-39
Countermine Identification Training (CIT) Program
June 1997
American troops walk along the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) every day in Korea. This deck
of cards issued to the troops is designed to help them identify mines and save their
lives. In this case, the cards are restricted to U.S personnel to keep any technical
information secret from the North Koreans and the deck is destroyed when no longer needed
so it cannot be found and used by an enemy. The color of the print is a very subdued green
and one wonders if this was a form of camouflage. There are 58 cards in this deck; a
glossary, 2 underwater mines, 8 booby traps, 4 unexploded ordnance (UXOs), and the rest
anti-personnel and anti-tank mines.
Mines and Bobby Traps
As always, even
while the bullets are flying the U.S. Army seeks to save lives by teaching
soldiers about the dangers of Mines. This is the third edition of this book
dated 1954, the year after the Korean War ended. I assume the earlier two
editions were printed during the war and the book has been constantly
updated. The book was designed and publiched by the Engineer Technical
Intelligence Detachment. The theme of the book is, "Use your head and you
won't lose your head." It has over 100 pages and sections such as: US
Fuses, US mines, Soviet fuses, Societ anti-tank mines, soviet anti-personnel
mines, Chinese mines, Grenades used as booby-traps, etc.
To Protect Citizens during Wartime
Leaflet 1301
Warnings of the dangers of explosives are not used only during peacetime. They are
also used to protect the innocent during wartime. During the Korean War the United States
wanted to protect those men and women who worked the fields. This leaflet depicts a bomb
that has fallen but not exploded. It is a warning to Koreans to stay away from bombing
targets. The text is:
Be careful with the dud bomb
Your life is in danger. Don't go near it and do not touch it
There is a four panel cartoon on the back showing the falling bomb; it buries itself in
the ground; a female farmer digs near it; and in the last panel we see an explosion.
Leaflet 8414
This leaflet also features a four-panel cartoon. They explain the actions of time-delay
bomb. The title of this leaflet is “UXB warning.” It was dropped following
bombing raids. We see U.N. aircraft bombing a railroad; a repairman comes to fix the
damage; he approaches the hole; and in the final panel once again we see an explosion. The
text is:
A warning to the laborers repairing the bombed railroad
Take notice of this friendly warning from the UN soldiers
A time-delay bomb - The time-delay bomb which brings death
When the UN planes bomb the railroads
Do not come back to repair the railroads
The time-delay bomb is buried in the ground
It might explode at any time and kill you
I should point out that this leaflet does double duty. Not only does it protect the
worker, but it also keeps the railroads from being repaired which would hurt the North
Korean and Chinese war effort.
In 2022, President Joe Biden stated that the United States would
restrict the use of anti-personnel mines by the U.S. military. The one
exception to this rule was Korea. Because of the aggressiveness of North
Korea, the size of its army and the constant propaganda about reunification
by force, if necessary, the landmines could be scattered along the DMZ if
the North Koreans chose to invade the South for a second time.
LAOS
A Mine Booklet produced by a US Army PSYOP Team for Distribution in Laos
As part of the Vietnam War and the Ho Chi Minh Trail from 1964 to 1973, Laos still has
thousands of unexploded ordnance (UXO) and land mines. The US Military dropped
approximately 2 million tons of bombs on Laos
during 580,000 bombing missions, the equivalent of one planeload every 8
minutes, 24 hours a day, for 9 years, making it, per capita, the most heavily
bombed country in the world. At
least 270 million cluster bomblets were dropped as part of the bombing
campaign; approximately 80 million failed to detonate. It is estimated that about 30 percent of the explosives are
still live. The worst areas are the northern provinces and the eastern border which was
heavily bombed during the war.
Data
from a survey completed in Laos in 2009 indicate that unexploded ordnance,
including cluster bombs, have killed, or maimed as many as 50,000 civilians
in Laos since 1964 (and 20,000 since 1973, after the war ended). About 60%
of accidents result in death, and 40% of the victims are children. Boys are
particularly at risk.
Twenty buried BLU-26 Cluster Bombs
The United States has been assisting Laos since 1995. Over $14 million has
been provided for humanitarian demining projects, mine awareness programs and
victims’ assistance. The United States is the largest contributor to the UXO and
landmine relief in Laos, providing over 25 percent of its total contributions. Funds
contributed by the United States maintain mine and UXO awareness in eight provinces, mine
and UXO clearance in seven others, and created rapid response teams in the remaining five.
A Female Deminer Team in Laos
The U.S. helped to build and establish the original training center at Nam
Souang. The Lao teams assumed responsibility for their own training in October 1999 after
certification and selection of trainers. Over 104,000 items of ordnance have been cleared
and over 700 villages visited with comprehensive mine risk education messages. The Lao
women of the Mines Advisory Group (MAG) work under dangerous conditions removing
unexploded ordinance from fields and villages
Lebanon
On 12 July 2006 Hezbollah guerrillas in Lebanon crossed the border into Israel,
killed eight soldiers and abducted two others. Hezbollah leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah
said that a prisoner exchange was the only way to secure the release of the soldiers, who
he said were being held in a “secure and remote” location. Israeli forces
retaliated the same day against Hezbollah strongholds in Southwest Lebanon by sending
troops across the border. This rapidly escalated into a full-scale invasion and a war that
lasted for 34 days. At the end of the short war U.N. and civilian organizations moved in
to help the nation of Lebanon recover. They produced leaflets warning the population not
to touch items that might be undetonated explosives. In the 20 August picture above, Elias
Kayyal, an officer of the United Nations Mine Action Coordination Center holds a leaflet
depicting unexploded ordinance in the village of Al Bayyadah, southern Lebanon.
LIBYA
Street sign warns of the danger of unexploded ordnance and mines
The civil war in Libya, which began 17 February 2011, has led to clashes between
forces loyal to Colonel Gaddafi and rebel fighters as well as aerial bombing from North
Atlantic treaty Organization forces. As a result, much of the ground is littered with
unexploded ordnance and mines. Anti-personnel and anti-vehicle Landmines and cluster
munitions have been used during the conflict. Handicap
International evaluated the situation on Libyan territory and confirmed the presence
of a very large number of explosive remnants of war (artillery shells and mortars,
rockets, missiles, landmines and unexploded grenades).
Pile of unexploded ordnance
In early July 2011, the organization distributed more than 30,000 leaflets and some
2,500 posters in Benghazi, Ajdabiya, Misrata, Brega and on the Tunisian border.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) stated in November 2011 that
civilians continue to be injured or killed regularly in Libya by explosive devices. The
humanitarian impact is the most serious in Bani Walid and Sirte. The ICRC placed
billboards and distributed leaflets and posters in Sirte explaining the hazards of
explosive ordnance and mobilized Libyan Red Crescent volunteers to spread the message to
the population. From March to November 2011, the ICRC removed 1,400 warheads, munitions,
grenades and mortar shells in Benghazi, Ajdabiya, Misrata, Brega, Ras Lanuf and the Nefusa
mountains. It has also trained over 100 Libyan Red Crescent volunteers to take part in the
effort to educate the public.
Somalia
Sergeant First Class Alan Beuscher, ODA 562, uncovering a Russian
TM46 Mine
during Special Forces demining operations in Somalia
Mines are a serious ongoing problem in Somalia .
During Operation RESTORE HOPE, mine explosions killed or injured several UNITAF
personnel as well as many Somalis victims. To address the mine issue, PSYOP specialists
produced several different posters and published articles in the RAJO newspaper
that served as public service announcements advising Somalis to be aware of mine hazards.
Towards the end of the operation PSYOP also produced a coloring book detailing the first
aid requirements for victims of mine related accidents; a handbill explaining how to
exit a minefield safely; and posters illustrating the most common mines found in
Somalia. The products were distributed to French, Belgians, Canadians, and
Botswanans, and to UNITAF commanders in the Mogadishu area. Coalition forces used English
language copies of the products to train their troops.
One leaflet shows a young Somali about to touch a mine. There are 23 coalition flags
above and below him. Drawings of different kinds of explosives are all around the boy.
Text on the front is:
Do not touch mines or explosive things. Tell someone about them.
The back depicts the boy telling two soldiers about the mines with the text:
Meaningless death. Parents please tell your children to keep away from mines and
other explosive things. Tell the peace-keeping force about mines and other explosive
things.
This leaflet appears in several variations with different colors. It was printed with
fronts and backs in blue, red or green.
SYRIA
Raqqa
The leaflet depicts a soldier removing an explosive device in
Raqqa, probably when the U.S. was fighting ISIS there. The same image and
message are on the front and back of this uncoded leaflet. I also suspect it
was handed out with a document to be filled out where the individual could
tell the authorities where the mines were seen. The text is:
The Civil Council of Tabqa and the Internal Security Forces in
Raqqa are working to remove all unexploded materials and devices. Fill out
this form and submit it to the Internal Security Forces checkpoints in Raqqa
to remove these materials.
My translator looking at some of the anti-ISIS leaflets thought
they were not well written:
It is written in almost broken Arabic, it does not consider
cultural norms and sensitivities, and at the end it is not convincing as
written.
Thailand
The Ministry of Health in Thailand states that at least 100 people a year are maimed or
killed by landmines. With assistance from the U.S. Department of Defense, the Royal Thai
Military implements and coordinates Mine Awareness Training Courses at the Thai Special
Forces/PSYOPS base in Lop Buri, Thailand. The training courses are designed to enhance
Thai soldiers’ ability to teach mine awareness programs that encourage people to
adopt activities and attitudes that avoid landmine dangers. Additionally, the courses
train the soldiers to effectively collect information from local communities about the
presence of mine fields and unexploded ordnance.
The military mine awareness team of the first Humanitarian Mine Action Unit (HMAU)
began mine awareness in April 2000, at Sra Keow province along the Thai-Cambodian border,
the site of the first Thai-U.S. demining partnership. The teams continue to organize mine
awareness presentations in villages and schools, distribute and post mine awareness
materials and collect information on victims and suspected mine fields.
Thai soldier clearing minefield
Although the Thai military no longer uses landmines, the proliferation of landmines
along the Thai-Burma border continues. New mines are often laid by Myanmar troops and
Burmese refugees on the border. An estimated 100,000 mines exist across the country
according to the Landmine Monitor Report 2000. As reported to the United Nations on Jan.
31, 2000, Thailand stockpiles approximately 411,625 AP mines.
Ukraine
Ukraine Mine Warning
In February 2022, Russia invaded the Ukraine. There have been
numerous stories of Russian mines used in Ukraine, though we are yet to see
any leaflets or posters about them. As the Russians pulled out of some
occupied areas the returning forces found that they had heavily mined the
area.
The Pom-3
On 6 April 2022, the New York Times reported:
Russian forces in Ukraine appear to be using a new type of weapon
as they step up attacks on civilian targets: an advanced land mine equipped
with sensors that can detect when people walk nearby. Ukrainian bomb
technicians discovered the device, called the POM-3, last week near the
eastern city of Kharkiv, according to Human Rights Watch, a leading human
rights group, which has reviewed photos provided by Ukraine’s military.
Older types of land mines typically explode when victims accidentally step
on them or disturb attached tripwires. But the POM-3’s seismic sensor picks
up on approaching footsteps and can effectively distinguish between humans
and animals. Humanitarian deminers and groups that campaign against the use
of land mines said the POM-3 would make future efforts to locate and destroy
unexploded munitions in Ukraine vastly more complicated and deadlier.
The PTM-1M
Russian anti-vehicle mine scattered by aircraft or rocket systems.
It requires 330-881 pounds of pressure
to detonate. The green
plastic outer shell is filled with nearly 2.5 pounds of liquid
explosive.
This mine
cannot be neutralized or disarmed after it has been emplaced. The Russian
military recommends
destroying the mine by “projectile attack,” such as
shooting it with a machine gun mounted on a vehicle.
On 11 April 2022 Reuters reported:
Ukrainian authorities in the northeastern city of Kharkiv warned
people not to go near what they said were landmines being dropped on the
city. Lieutenant Colonel Nikolay Ovcharuk, head of the demining unit of the
state emergency service, said the devices were plastic PTM-1M mines, which
detonate using timers and which were widely used by Soviet forces in
Afghanistan. They have self-destructing timers, he said as loudspeakers
warned people not to approach the cordoned-off area where mine disposal
teams were working.
The landmine can be scattered from helicopters or submunition
warheads from artillery or rocket systems. After ejection from the
scattering system, a pyrotechnic element arms the landmine. The landmine is
338mm long and is made of very thin flexible plastic containing
approximately 1.5kg of liquid explosive (PVV-12S). A cylindrical housing at
one end of the landmine contains the clockwork self-destruct timer (2-hour
increments to a maximum of 24 hours).
Ukraine President Zelenskyy said added:
Russian troops left behind tens if not hundreds of thousands of
dangerous objects. These are shells that did not explode, mines, tripwire
mines. At least several thousand such items are disposed of daily. In the
houses they seized, just on the streets, in the fields, they mined private
property, mined cars, and doors. They consciously did everything to make the
return to these areas after de-occupation as dangerous as possible. Due to
the actions of the Russian army, our territory is currently one of the most
contaminated by mines in the world.
The small PFM-1 mines were outlawed by the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty - but Russia
did not sign the law.
Only
11 pounds of pressure is needd to detonate the device.
They are intended
to self-destruct over
over a period of 1 to 40 hours. The small size and
innocuous appearance of these mines
can
lead to children or other civilians handling them unknowingly.
On 9 August 2022, the Daily Mail reported that Russian forces are
using deadly butterfly mines in Donbas that maim children who mistake them
for toys, the British Ministry of Defense warns:
Putin's forces are laying 'indiscriminate' butterfly landmines that
children could confuse for toys in eastern Ukraine. Anti-personnel PFM-1
mines deployed in the Soviet Afghan War are thought to have 'maimed high
numbers of children who mistook them for toys', the British MoD stated in
its daily bulletin on the conflict. The MoD added: 'It is highly likely that
the Soviet-era stock being used by Russia will have degraded over time and
are now highly unreliable and unpredictable. This poses a threat to both the
local population and humanitarian mine clearance operations.'
Note: We show this same mine in the Afghanistan section above.
The Armtrac 400
The Vice News website in 2022 told of an Armtrac 400 demining vehicle that
was bought by donations. An Armtrac 400 costs roughly half a million dollars
and Ukraine raised the money through donations via United 24, a
government-backed donation platform. It is a massive, armored tractor with a
10-foot-long scoop on the front that’s filled with blunted teeth spinning on
hydraulic rotors. As the machine moves forward, it scoops up the earth, and
when it encounters a mine or another explosive, the force of the spinning
teeth detonates it. There’s a cab on the machine for a driver, but Ukraine’s
Armtrac 400 can be operated remotely.
A Ukrainian service member holds a display munition during a mine-clearing
demonstration
with the Armtrac 400 demining machine in the background, in
the Kharkiv region, Oct. 27, 2022.
Serhiy Kru, head of the State of Emergency Service of Ukraine, said Each
day, bomb technicians of the State Emergency Service defuse between 1,000 to
1,500 munitions. Oleksii Dokuchaev, the commander of a demining
operation in Kharkiv told the Associated Press One year of war equals 10
years of demining. Even now we are still finding munitions from World
War II, and in this war, they’re being planted left and right.
Mines and unexploded rockets next to a destroyed bridge on the way to
Kherson, Ukraine, in November.
(Wojciech Grzedzinski for The Washington Post
)
On 30 December 2022, The Independent website stated that Russian
troops have been accused of booby-trapping the dead bodies of soldiers
killed fighting in the war in Ukraine. Oleksii Reznikov, Ukraine’s defense
minister, claimed bombs had also been planted in mass graves, children’s
toys, backpacks, schools, hospitals, and apartments. He said this was only
"a partial list of Russia's violations" of the United Nation’s rules of
engagement in armed conflicts and war. Booby traps are illegal under
international law and Protocol II of the Convention on Certain Conventional
Weapons specifically states that they must not be attached to "sick, wounded
or dead persons." A breach of this convention could be considered a war
crime.
In July 2023
the Washington Post reported that Ukraine is now the most mined country in
the world. It will take decades to make it safe. Unexploded ordnance has
contaminated an area larger than Florida.
Anti-Tank Mine TM-62
Image from https://www.turbosquid.com
This 11 pound Soviet-manufactured circular blast mines is typically loaded with
over 16lb of explosives.
It requires 330-1,212 pounds of pressure to detonate. It can be laid manuallyor by using mine-laying machines
In a year and
a half of conflict, land mines, along with unexploded bombs, artillery
shells and other deadly byproducts of war, have contaminated a swath of
Ukraine roughly the size of Florida or Uruguay. It has become the world’s
most mined country. The transformation of Ukraine’s heartland into patches
of wasteland riddled with danger is a long-term calamity on a scale that
ordnance experts say has rarely been seen, and that could take hundreds of
years and billions of dollars to undo.
PMN-4
Image from
https://cat-uxo.com/explosive-hazards/landmines
PMN-4 mines are 3.7 inches across and armed with a delay.
They carry a 2 ounce explosive charge.
Though the
ongoing combat renders precise surveys impossible, the scale and
concentration of ordnance makes Ukraine’s contamination greater than that of
other heavily mined countries such as Afghanistan and Syria. This week’s
deployment by Ukrainian forces of U.S.-made cluster munitions, which are
known to scatter duds that fail to explode, can only add to the danger.
Both sides use
mines. Russia heavily mined its front lines in anticipation of Ukraine’s
ongoing counteroffensive and has made far more extensive use of widely
banned antipersonnel mines. Small, deadly antipersonnel mines, triggered by
the weight of the human body, cannot discriminate between combatants and
noncombatants.
OZM-72
Image courtesy of https://cat-uxo.com/explosive-hazards/landmines
The OZM-72 comes with a spool of tripwire to be strung up between stakes.
When the trip wire is triggered, the mine explodes upward, releasing over
2,400 steel fragments.
Image courtesy of the Washington Post
The United
States included two types of mines in its aid packages to Ukraine: The
Remote Anti-Armor Mine System, which uses 155-milimeter artillery rounds to
create temporary minefields programmed to self-destruct, and M21 antitank
mines, which require hundreds of pounds of force to detonate but do not
self-destruct, leading to concerns about later removal.
Volunteers and veterans of the Ukrainian Territorial Defense Forces
get a briefing on various types of mines on 5 February 2022, on the
outskirts of Kyiv.
(Michael Robinson Chavez/The Washington Post)
Mines are not
the only type of explosive that pose a threat. Mortars, bombs, artillery
shells, cluster munitions and others also become hazards if they do not
explode when deployed. Though specialized mine-clearing vehicles are in use,
front-line mines are so concentrated that specialized soldiers, called
sappers, have had to resort to clearing paths by hand. Humanitarian
clearance operations, which return denied land to local populations after
conflict, are extremely slow, tedious, and expensive. They are underway
across parts of Ukraine, including around Kyiv, the capital, and other areas
West of the front lines, where the battle has receded
Leopard 2-R Mine Clearing
Image source: vestnik-rm.ru
The Leopard 2R mine-clearing tanks that Finland has transferred to Ukraine
are developed on the basis of the
Leopard 2A4 tank.
These tanks are equipped with mine plows, a bulldozer bucket and an
automated marking system.
Ukraine’s
contaminated territory is so massive that some experts estimate humanitarian
clearance would take the approximately 500 demining teams in current
operation 757 years to complete.
Combat Mine Clearing - UR-77 Meteorit
Image Credit: Viktor Tolochko
The UR-77 is equipped with a rocket-propelled explosive line charge system
called the MDK-3. It is based on the
chasis of the 2S1 tracked self-propelled howitzer.
The system works by launching a line charge filled with explosives
over a
minefield. Once the line charge is in place, it is detonated, creating a
shockwave that neutralizes or detonates
any mines near the explosion and
clears a safe path up to 6 meters wide and 90 meters long.
Demining is
not just slow, it’s also expensive. The World Bank estimates that demining
Ukraine, which costs between $2 and $8 per square meter, will cost $37.4
billion over the next 10 years. The United States has committed more than
$95 million to Ukraine’s demining, according to a 2023 State Department
report.
A mine danger sign is seen near the village of
Snihurivka in Kherson region, Ukraine June 8, 2023.
On 1 November 2023, Ukraine's military said that more than 260
civilians have been killed after stepping on landmines or other explosives
in Ukraine during the 20-month-old war with Russia.
Vietnam
In Vietnam
dogs were used to sniff out explosives. These dogs are very intelligent.
They are trained to concentrate on their tasks and not be confused by
movement and sound. I had friends that were dog handlers and they always
amazed me. One came into my quarters one day with the dog and was kind
enough to ask me at the door if I had any drugs inside. He was trying to
protect me because if I did have any drugs the dog was going to alert him,
and he would have to charge me. Of course, I had none so they both came in
and immediately the dog explored the entire house sniffing, using his nose
to open a closet door, and checking out the entire place. Thank goodness I
passed. While the dog was working, I bounced a rubber ball, pretended to
throw it, and did everything possible to break its concentration, nothing
worked. In Korea the dogs were trained to attack "Stealy boys" coming under
the wire to take whatever they could find, dig up cable to sell, etc. Those
dogs were big, some over 135 pounds. There was one that was so big he could
no longer be regularly trained. He could bite through the protective suit. I
used to tease the handlers. "You guys are pissers! The mutt runs around and
finds the drugs or the criminal, the dog holds him as you causally wander
over and make the arrest or locate the mine, and then you get the credit,
the promotions, and the medals." The mutt does all the work! It used to be
that the dogs were considered too dangerous or may be infected with tropical
diseases and parasites to bring home and were often killed after his handler
returned home. Now the Army is more liberal and will sometimes allow the
handler to bring the dog back to the United States.
This
Fehrenbacher cartoon makes fun of the relationship between dog and handler.
It says that the handler studies the dog and watches every movement
intensely, while the image shows the dog dragging his oblivious handler to
where he has found an exposed mine. As always, this artist captures the
feel, fear, and humor of Vietnam.
United States Army 24th Infantry Division School in Cu Chi, Vietnam
Vietnam is one of the most heavily mined nations in the world. The Vietnamese fought
the French for their freedom, the Japanese in WWII, then the returning French once again,
and finally the United States for a decade. Since the end of those wars, the Vietnamese
have fought smaller engagements with Cambodia and China. Every one of the combatants laid
mines in the ground. In some cases they were for defense and protection, in others, as a
terror weapon. Millions of mines are still in the ground and still taking lives and limbs.
Tank-mounted mine roller sweeps road in Vietnam in 1968
During the Vietnam War with the United States, American PSYOP leaflets mostly depicted
Viet Cong mines and explosives, and the messages were in the form of anti-Communist
statements telling the people of the Republic of Vietnam of the indiscriminate death and
destruction of civilians and their property caused by the guerrillas and their masters in
the North. Since the end of the war, leaflets and posters have been of the standard mine
awareness type, warning the people of the danger of the hidden mines, identifying them,
and explaining how to avoid them. Some of the Vietnam War leaflets that mention mines are:
104-66
This very
early mine warning leaflet was prepared before the PSYOP companies were sent
to Vietnam. It was created by the I Corps PSYWAR and Civil Affairs Center.
Later the 244th PSYOP Company and then the 7th PSYOP Battalion would print
leaflets for the I Corps Tactical Zone. This mine warning leaflet is
different from most I have seen. Instead of showing casualties or dead
bodies it depicts a jungle scene. There is some discoloration since the
leaflet was glued to a file sheet and over five decades the glue has
discolored. The front of the leaflet is an image of a jungle scene. Nothing
dangerous is seen. The back shows the same image but now it exposes booby
traps and explosives. There is an
English-language message to any American Marine who encounters a Vietnamese
person holding this leaflet:
The bearer of
this leaflet is trying to report the location of a mine or booby trap. Take
him to your commanding officer or Battalion S-2.
The Vietnamese
language message is:
The cowardly
Viet Cong hide booby traps, not caring who is hurt by them. Innocent
civilians are most often the victims. Tell the Marines where they are
hidden. You will receive a generous reward, and the Marines will remove this
danger so that your children will be safe.
125-66
This I Corps leaflet depicts some Vietnamese
civilians being blown up in front of a church on the front and a church bell
ringing on the back. Once again, the glue applied in 1966 to the back of the
leaflet has bled through and discolored the paper. The text on the front is:
A MINING INCIDENT IN DONG HA PROVINCE
On 20 February 1966 a priest and two small
children were killed by a Viet Cong landmine as they were going to church in
Dong Hai Province.
The text on the back is:
The church bell warns every one of the Viet
Cong wolves. They have killed innocent Christians and robbed the churches.
The faithless Viet Cong are crueler than wild beasts.
Christians never live with the faithless Viet
Cong. Christians never listen to Viet Cong propaganda. Christian belief is a
strong arm against the Viet Cong.
138-66
This mine wqrning leaflet from I Corps PSYWAR
and Civil Affairs Center shows a Vietnamese villager telling an American
soldier where a mine has been placed. The other side depicts the actual sign
used when mines are placed in the ground. The sign says “Mine” in Vietnamese
and English.
INSTRUCTIONS TO CITIZENS TO INFORM SOLDIERS OF VIET CONG MINES
Respect Villagers,
Aid your government. Do not stand by and see
civilians, Vietnamese and Allied soldiers senselessly killed. Feel no shame!
Inform the Vietnamese soldiers or Allied soldiers of the location on Viet
Cong booby traps and mines. Stop the senseless killing of civilians,
Vietnamese, and Allied soldiers by the treacherous Viet Cong. Support the
Government of Vietnam and the people.
Extra translation:
Dear Compartiots,
Please lend the Government a hand. Do not be
indifferent to the ongoing situation and watch the ARVN and Allies incurring
senseless deaths. Do not hesitate! Show where the VC have planted mines and
punji sticks to the ARVN and Allies so they can avoid a cruel death by the
cunning VC. Do support the Government of the Republic of Vietnam and the
People!
1211
Joint United states Public Affairs Office (JUSPAO) number 1211 developed in May 1966.
The upper part of the 8 x 10-inch handout depicts children playing with grenades found on
the ground and the text:
Grenades, mines, ammunition, and explosives are not toys for children!
The lower part depicts the children being killed in an explosion and the text:
When you find any weapons or ammunition, report them immediately to the
authorities. Above all, do not let children touch them.
The identical vignette and message were used on a 17 x 22-inch poster coded 1212.
246-332-68
Before the
Vietnam War escalated and PSYOP Battalions were formed, there were PSYOP
Companies in Vietnam. 200,000 copies of this leaflet were printed at the
request of the 9th Division with Vietnamese text on one side and
American text on the other. The text on the Vietnamese side is:
The American
soldiers are here in Vietnam to help your Government of Vietnam bring
peace and security to your country. To accomplish this task, we need
your help. To protect you and other innocent people we will give an
award to anyone who give us information about:
Viet Cong
mines, weapon caches, tunnels, booby-traps and ambushes. Contact the
nearest American soldier of the 9th U.S. Infantry Division and give him
this leaflet. He will read the back of this leaflet written in English
and help you report your information to the concerned authority. You
will be properly rewarded for valuable information.
Note: Usually,
these leaflets ended with something like, "your name and identity will
be kept secret." Most of the later leaflets have this added sentence.
The reward is no good if a Viet Cong hit squad hears that you informed.
7-503-71
The U.S. 7th PSYOP Battalion printed leaflet 7-503-71. It depicts a young boy pointing
out a bomb with tripwire to a soldier. The text beneath the picture is "Many
civilians have been killed by enemy explosives and booby traps. Report to military units
or local authorities as soon as you discover Viet Cong mines, explosive, grenades and
traps. Text on the back is:
Attention people! The communists usually set booby traps along our paths, plant
mines on our highways, and place bombs in residential areas to interfere with our daily
activities. They also hide their weapons and ammunition which they use to terrorize
innocent civilians whenever the circumstances permit them to do so. If you discover the
enemy’s weapons or see anything which resembles a booby trap, you must immediately
inform the Army of Vietnam or allied soldiers so that they can remove them. By doing so,
you can save your own life and property and those of others.
Leaflet 7-505-68
This leaflet depicts three mortar shells on the front. The text is:
These mines used by Viet Cong to kill innocent civilians were
detected by patriotic heroes in the "Find Enemy Guns" campaign. They thus
saved many lives of compatriots and will be rewarded.
I thought it was odd that these were called "mines," when they are
in fact mortar shells. My translator responded:
I believe technical correctness was not a priority here unless the
VC indeed used those mortar rounds as mines.
And of course, when I read through more reports, I found numerous
cases of mortar shells being used as mines, often connected to make the
explosion bigger and more deadly. In one case eight mortar shells had been
connected. In many cases the connecting wires had corroded due to the
constant rains and the mines did not explode.
7-559-68
The U.S. 7th PSYOP Battalion also printed leaflet 7-559-68. The leaflet
has a photo of two types of mines that were commonly used by the Viet Cong. The text
beneath the photo is:
Please inform [the government] about where the Viet Cong have laid
mines. You will not only save many lives, you will also earn a reward.
The back of the leaflet is all text:
Report Viet Cong Mines: All citizens of Duc Pho County who are loyal
to our national ideology will fight to destroy communist tyranny. Whenever you see
communist mines [planted] on the National Highway 1, or anywhere, please report at once to
the authorities, the soldiers of the Republic of Vietnam, or the Allies. You can earn a
reward of at least 2500 piasters. Your patriotic duty is a practical way to save many
lives from the murderous Viet Cong. Your name will be kept secret. [Signed], County
Commander, Nguyen Duc Trinh.
7- 751- 68.
Later in the same year, the 7th PSYOP Battalion printed another leaflet that was almost
identical. This time, the mines were depicted by a sketch rather than a photograph. Once
again the text on the front was:
Please inform [the government] about where the Viet Cong have laid mines. You will
not only save many lives, you will also earn a reward.
The back of the leaflet is all text:
Attention Citizens: Recently the Viet Cong have planted many mines in your area. We
urgently ask you once again to report the locations of mines and explosives to the
authorities and the Allies. Those mines and explosives should be destroyed before they
cause injury and death to our citizens. Acting on our request will save you and your
family and is your civic duty as a citizen of the country. You will also be rewarded
accordingly. Have the courage to report. Please report on those mines and explosives now.
7-79-70
The Viet Cong did not only place mines in the ground. They sometimes placed
them in water, as this leaflet warns. This leaflet was requested by the
Coast Guard who wanted the people to point out the mines to them so they
could be disabled. The text on the front is:
THE VIET CONG’S DANGEROUS EXPLOSIVE
This is a buoyant mine, used by the communists. This is the type of mine
that killed 46 people at Dong Ha River on 3 July 1970.
The text on the back is:
ATTENTION PEOPLE:
On 3 July 1970, more than 46 of your neighbors were killed needlessly on the
Dong Ha River by the so-called “Liberators.†You witnessed it for yourself.
Now, you should denounce these blood-thirsty communists. You should report
immediately dangerous weapons or anything you suspect may cause death to the
people or the troops of the Government of Vietnam.
H7-501A-71
This 7th PSYOP Battalion handout warned the Vietnamese not to pick up unexploded M-79
grenade rounds. The text on the front is:
An M-79 round (approximately 7.5 centimeters long) is shown near a
cigarette pack
The text on the back is:
When you see an unexploded M-79 rounds, do not pick them up. They may explode at any
time and cause a fatality. You should lead Vietnamese and Allied soldiers to recover them.
You will be rewarded if you lead them to the location of the M-79 rounds. Those who take
those rounds to the soldiers will not be rewarded.
Leaflet 7-19-70
Notice that
unlike the 1971 hand-disseminated propaganda leaflet, a year later the same
general leaflet was disseminated by aircraft. The front of this leaflet
features an M-79 grenade and a pack of Marlboro cigarettes for size
comparison. The M-79 grenade launcher is a single-shot, shoulder-fired,
break-action grenade launcher that fires a 40 × 46mm grenade. During the
Vietnam War, the Americans gave it numerous nicknames such as: "Thumper,"
"Thump-Gun," "Bloop Tube," "Elephant Gun," and "Blooper." Australian units
referred to it as the "Wombat Gun." The M79 can fire a wide variety of 40 mm
rounds, including explosive, anti-personnel, smoke, buckshot, flechettes
(pointed steel projectiles with a vaned tail for stable flight), and
illumination. The text on the front is:
This is a photograph of an M-79 grenade next to a package of Salem
cigarettes to compare the size of the two.
The text on the
back is:
Fellow
Citizens,
Many people,
both children and adults have died by handling explosives, especially the
M-79 grenades. The M-79 grenade is about 2/3s the size of the pack of
cigarettes. Anyone who sees the M-79 grenade or any other type of explosive
should not touch it, but immediately report it to the authorities or the
military to avoid dangerous accidents to fellow citizens.
CC-121-70
Another leaflet is coded CC-121-70. It shows members of a North Vietnamese Army unit
being killed in a mine field. The text is:
To members in NVA Engineer Company and 18B Regiment. Will you be next?
Text on the back is:
In the past few days, many of your comrades have been killed by mines and booby
traps. Your whole area is covered with explosives and it is unsafe for you to go anywhere.
One way to return safely to your family in the North is to surrender to be a POW and await
repatriation at the end of the war in the safety and relative comfort of a POW camp. You
will be treated with honor and dignity and you can write and receive mail from your
family. Another way to do this is to take advantage of the Chieu Hoi program. If you rally
you will be well treated and the Government of Vietnam will help you to resettle in the
South.
Guide to Selected Viet Cong Equipment and Explosive Devices
The United States printed several booklets and manuals for its troops in Vietnam to
help them identify and disable mines. The above 97-page booklet was printed by the
Department of the Army in May 1966.
Viet Cong booby trap made with a wired rigged grenade
Betel Box Mine
Chapters include: Hand grenades, Antipersonnel mine, Betel box mine, Turtle mine, and a
number of various traps used by the Guerrillas, etc.
VC-NVA EMPLOYMENT OF MINES AND BOBBY TRAPS
This 1970 Tech Intel Branch Combined Intelligence Center, Vietnam booklet
was also made into a hardback book of over 200 pages. It contains chapters on U.S. and
Soviet Fuses, VC Firing Devices, U.S. Mines and Soviet mines, Chinese and Viet Cong mines,
Shaped Charges, etc.
Firewood Booby Trap
In the field soldiers always want to start a small fire to heat their C-Rations. The
Viet Cong sometimes prepared a booby trap where a piece of tempting wood was tied to an
explosive under the ground. Other times the same general method would be used to booby
trap the things that Americans craved as souvenirs; an AK-47, A Viet Cong pith helmet or
belt buckle, and most wanted, a nice mint VC flag.
Viet Cong Flag Booby Trap
The most wanted souvenir by American troops. This is the central "Star"
portion of a Viet Cong flag. Note that the star does not point straight up,
but instead now points straight down. This is a warning for the Viet Cong to
'stay away"- this is booby trapped. The flag would be left where it could
be found by American troops. At a corner of the flag a filament would be
used to attach the flag to a grenade.
Tips on VC/NVA Mines and Booby Traps
Often the Army prepared small cards which were issued to soldiers to help them survive
or better understand U.S. policy. I have a number of such cards issued to the soldiers by
various commands. The above 1967 card was meant to be issued to all troops to warn them
about the danger of mines and booby traps.
Mines and Booby Traps used by the Viet Cong in South Vietnam
This 170-page booklet was printed in November 1965 to “save lives and preserve
equipment. Mines and booby traps have exacted a heavy toll of lives and property in
Vietnam. Many of these casualties could have been prevented through proper care and
caution based on a knowledge of such devices and the techniques of their employment.”
The Viet Cong knew that Americans love their souvenirs, so items such as flags,
weapons, binoculars, etc., were often bobby-trapped to injure or kill the soldier who
foolishly picked up something to keep or send home. Perhaps the most interesting device in
this booklet was the cigarette lighter used as an assassination device. I will not show it
because it just looks like a standard lighter. The text explains:
This device has the outward appearance of a common lighter sold commercially in the
Republic of Vietnam. The explosive device is located in the fluid compartment and is
composed of a detonator and explosive charge. The detonator is cotton saturated with
flammable powders and is placed on the same level as the flint. The explosive is below it
in the fluid compartment. The device is detonated when the flint is struck, causing the
detonator to ignite and set off the explosive charge. DO NOT ATTEMPT TO DISARM THIS
DEVICE. Destroy it in place or notify explosive ordnance disposal personnel.
The Explosive Ordnance Reconnaissance Handbook
This 38-page handbook (with numerous addendums) was issued by MACV in 1966 to help
soldiers protect themselves against various explosives and mines. Each type of explosive
device is illustrated and the disarming of each is discussed in some detail.
Hollow Bamboo Mine
One of the best general knowledge booklets printed for American
troops was the Handbook for U.S. Forces in Vietnam published by the
Military Assistance Command in Vietnam. This 233-page booklet discusses
everything the soldier needs to survive. There is an 18-page section on
bobby-traps and a 22-page section on mines. The illustrations are extremely
detailed, and I depict one above.
The Vietnamese Train their Soldiers
This cartoon sheet was made and distributed by the Army of South Vietnam to educate
their soldiers on various booby traps used by the Viet Cong. An ARVN squad has entered a
small hut and some do it wisely and some unwisely. The text at the top-left of the picture
is “Station V” and the text on the board on the main gate entrance is:
“Viet Cong Village.”
The soldier at the left studies the situation and says:
With careful observation, we can find the trip wires.
A soldier inside sees a buddy set off a mine and says:
I told you. You must observe the gate carefully in case of trip wire. You weren't
careful enough, and you got blown up.
A soldier chases a chicken and steps on a mine at the middle right. He says:
Because I wanted to get that chicken.
The soldier by the gate inspects it carefully and says:
I knew it. There is a trap just inside the gate. A punji-stick trap.
Marine Punji Stick Leaflet
This leaflet is uncoded so we know it is very early in the war. The front depicts a
boot with small Communist arrows coming up at it and being deflected. I had not a clue
what this one was about until it was translated. It turns out to be requested by the
Marines to tell the Viet Cong that their punji stick traps did not work. It was a good
effort, but the punji sticks caused a lot of damage and could be made for nothing; just a
sharp knife and a tree branch. It was a very cost-effective way to take Americans out of
the war. The text is:
All US Marines wear a special type of shoe to counter Viet Cong punji traps.No
matter how sharp the punji stake is, it cannot penetrate these shoes.
We had had to treat countless children who have been injured by VC punji stakes at
our hospitals and medical aid stations. Many children have been hurt so badly that they
will be crippled for the rest of their lives.
Why haven't the Viet Cong told the people that their punji traps are not effective
against the American Marines and that they only hurt innocent children?
Village blacksmiths help the Viet Cong produce iron punji sticks in
Quang Ngai province in December 1965. The iron punji sticks were usually
crudely forged by village blacksmiths, and then sharpened by local
guerrillas who drove them through a piece of wood. They could be “poisonedâ€Â
as desired by dipping them in concoctions of human or water buffalo urines
and fecal matter. They were buried along paths to make punji traps, covered
by leaves or bamboo with soil above.
Viet Cong Women lay Mines
We have shown so many attempts by the Americans to safeguard innocent civilians against
death and mutilation by mine. I thought it would be interesting to show the readers a
Communist Chinese leaflet that praises the Viet Cong who place those same mines in the
ground. This leaflet was based on an original woodcut painting. The image is from a set of
leaflets called “Letters from the South” celebrating the struggle of the
Vietnamese people against the United States. It was produced by the People's Fine Arts
publishing house, Chinese Artists Association Sichuan branch, May 1965.
Near Miss
Jim Ellis shows a photo he took during a patrol in the Long Hai hills in February 1970.
You can clearly see the imprint of his right boot just millimeters from the perfectly
round pressure pad of an M16 landmine (circled). Nothing is perfectly round in nature so
the pad was just visible to his trained eye.
Operation “Jeb Stuart” – Ap My Thanh, Vietnam
On 9 March 1968, Sergeant First Class Floyd R. Adkins of the 1st Cavalry Division
attempts to disarm a Viet Cong booby trap during the search of a village. The booby trap
was made from a 41 mm mortar round and a one quart can filled with explosives.
U.S. Army Photograph
Sneaky Viet Cong Mines
Combat Intelligence Lessons
The Confidential report Combat Intelligence Lessons was
printed from about 1968 to 1971 and adds:
Ever heard of the U.S. M1A1 anti-tank mine? Charlie has and takes
advantage of this as part of his psychological warfare campaign against friendly troops and civilians. Ole Charlie
takes his Chinese Communist Anti-Tank Mine Number 8 and stencils "US M1A1
Anti-Tank Mine, 1943" on it before planting them where he knows they will be
a nuisance. The people who get hurt blame the US troops for carelessness, or
worse, and Charlie has another sympathizer or two. When you think of it, it
is clever, and the nomenclature has a good all-American sound but ask your
intelligence officer. If he's on the ball he'll tell you that the reported
US M1A1 Anti-Tank Mine, 1943 may be a Chicom Anti-Tank Mine Number 8. US
intelligence personnel at all echelons should be sufficiently familiar with
U.S. as well as enemy materiel to permit them to frustrate such
psychological warfare attempts as the falsely labeled anti-tank mine.
An additional Hazard in Smoking. In Kien Giang Province, the VC are
trying to lend a further degree of sophistication to their methods. Plastic
cigarette cases bearing the Phillip Morris brand name and Zippo lighters are
the newest gift booby traps presented by the VC. Both cigarette case and
lighter are filled with plastic explosive in the form of a shaped charge
with metal fragments for shrapnel, A hole is left in the center of each
charge for placement of an acid fuse. The time delay of the fuse varies
between 18 and 32 minutes for the cigarette case and 9 and 12 minutes for
the lighter.
Mine Warning Posters
These posters were apparently used by the United States during the late 1960s and early
1970s to teach trainees in Basic Training about various mines and booby traps found in
Vietnam. These are about 30 inches in width and on particle board.
Souvenirs!
Americans are great souvenir collectors, going all the way back to WWII
when they prized the Japanese “meatball” flag and the German Luger pistol. Here
the Viet Cong have left one of the highly valued flags at the scene of a battle hoping
that some American will try to pull it out of the ground and set off an explosion.
Back-Scratcher!
This poster shows a Viet Nam booby trap where sharpened stakes are pulled back on a
bamboo tree stem that when released will hit the target with great force. These pointed
sticks were also used as dead-falls and placed in holes and called punji stakes. Something
similar to this trap, but placed high in a tree was depicted in the movie The Green
Berets.
Wake up!!...and Live!!
This leaflet is more about situational awareness than a mechanical booby
trap. An American squad is crossing over a Vietnam rice paddy and nobody has noticed a
cleverly camouflaged hole where a Viet Cong has popped up and is about to fire on the
Americans. One veteran said that this image was a mural on his basic training barracks
wall in 1985. The text was changed to “Stay alert, Stay alive.”
This leaflet is more about situational awareness than a mechanical booby trap. An American squad is crossing over a Vietnam rice paddy and nobody has noticed a cleverly camouflaged hole where a Viet Cong has popped up and is about to fire on the Americans. One veteran said that this image was a mural on his basic training barracks wall in 1985. The text was changed to “Stay alert, Stay alive.”
Beware of…Booby Traps!
This poster could have many meanings. First of all, there is a beautiful Vietnamese
girl who might offer sex for military information. Her hand is behind her back. That
implies she could have a pistol or a knife and be about to attack the soldier. There is a
“Chieu Hoi” sign on the wall which might indicate that she was a Viet Cong who
defected and is now a double agent. Finally, there is always the implied threat that she
has a venereal disease and can infect and disable the trooper. This poster works on many
levels.
Republic of
Korea Instructors teach Booby Trap Awareness to the Troops
Soldiers of the 26th Regiment, Republic of Korea Tiger Division,
give a presentation on the various types of booby-traps used by the Viet
Cong. September 1969, Song Cau, II Corps.
Australian PSYOP in Vietnam
The Australians were allies of the South Vietnamese and Americans in Vietnam. The
produced a great number of leaflets mentioning mines and explosives.
Leaflet ATF-013-70
This leaflet shows the same explosion in bright red ink on the front and the back. It
was produced by the 1st Psychological Operations Unit on 7 July 1970. The front has added
text:
Mines
Many people, soldiers and civilians, have been killed or wounded by mines. Parents -
tell your children not to play with strange metal objects. Report anything that could be a
mine to GVN or Allied authorities. This could save your life or the lives of your
children. Rewards are paid for information about mines. The identity of the people will be
kept a secret.
Australian Leaflet ATF-108-71
This leaflet depicts
an explosion very similar to ATF-013-70 above. An unknown number of these
leaflets were prepared on 13 April 1971 by hand. The text on the front is:
EXPLOSIVES!
Many people,
soldiers, and civilians have been killed or wounded by explosions.
Parents tell your
children not to play with strange objects.
If you see this
object, report its location to the Government of Vietnam or Allied
authorities.
SAVE YOUR CHILDREN FROM DEATH.
One Version of the Back of Leaflet ATF-108-71
A Second Version of the Back of Leaflet ATF-108-71
Notice that although the explosives are different on all the 108 warning
leaflets, the text is the same:
Beware!
This object can kill.
Leaflet ATF–109–71
This leaflet offers Money for Mines and was printed 14 April 1971. The text in
Vietnamese and English is:
MONEY FOR MINES
The Australian Forces will reward you when information is given to them about the
location of mines. Take this leaflet to the Australian Forces and they will go with you to
the location of the mine. You will be rewarded after the mine has been located and
destroyed.
Leaflet ATF-114-71
This leaflet was printed in 1971 and disseminated by hand. On the front it depicts the
symbol for “Mines” and the text:
DANGER
MINES
THIS AREA MAY CONTAIN MINES
The back depicts a bulldozer in the field apparently clearing mines and the text:
Mine clearing teams recover most mines when a minefield is cleared. Not all mines
can be recovered. Do not enter these areas. Any strange objects should be reported to
Government of Vietnam officials.
An Uncoded Australian Mine-Warning Leaflet
This August 1971 leaflet depicts some of the explosives shown in earlier
leaflets. The Australians did not record how many were made but there is a
note “usually 500). The text is:
DANGEROUS EXPLOSIVES
There are many people, soldiers, and civilians, have been killed by these
explosives. Parents tell your children not to play with these strange
objects.
PRECAUTION.
These objects can kill. Save your children from death. If you see these
strange objects, report their location to the Government of Vietnam or
Allied installations.
Marine Civil Action Program (CAP) leaflet
This last leaflet is interesting because it was prepared by a Marine Civil Action
Program (CAP) unit in the field and is written in both Vietnamese and English. It depicts
a father carrying his son out of the tall grass in the foreground and children stepping on
a mine in the background. Various explosives and even an animal trap are pictured along
the bottom of the leaflet. The Vietnamese message tells the reader to point out any
booby-traps to the Americans, while the English-language text is:
The bearer of this message is trying to tell you where a mine or booby trap is
located. If he does so, the USMC will reward him.
The White House fact sheet on United States Humanitarian Demining in Vietnam ,
November 18, 2000 says, “Vietnam is among the
countries most severely affected by landmines and unexploded ordnance. There are an
estimated 3.5 million landmines left over from various conflicts. Many of these mines are
homemade mines from recycled unexploded ordnance (UXO). There are about 300,000 tons of
UXO in Vietnam . The Vietnamese have had an ongoing demining and UXO program; However, as
a result of increased dialogue on this and other issues, the Vietnamese joined the United
States, in June of 2000, in a Humanitarian Demining
program.”
According to a survey carried out by the Vietnamese Ministry of Labor, Invalids and
Social Affairs in 1998, some 38,300 people had been killed and 64,000 injured since the
Vietnam War ended in 1975. In 2000, over $1.7 million was contributed to Vietnam for the
start up of a humanitarian demining center, in addition to demining and mine awareness
equipment. In 2001, the United States allocated more than $2 million to support
mine action in Vietnam
A U.S. Army Joint Readiness Training Center Leaflet
An Explosive Warning Leaflet
Besides the
various active-duty PSYOP troops that were sent to Iraq, there are also many
soldiers from the Army reserves. All those troops need to be brought up to
speed before they reach the units they are assigned to. How is that done?
Fort Johnson (formerly Ft. Polk) is the home of the U.S. Army Joint
Readiness Training Center (JRTC) with the motto “Forging the Warrior
Spirit.” The rote of the JRTC is to replicate as close as possible
everything in the environment that the soldier-player will discover when
deployed.
The United
States has tried hard to protect civilians against picking up explosives on
the ground thinking they are harmless or toys. This is a common warning
leaflet, showing various explosives and offering a reward for their
location. U.S. Explosive Ordnance Disposal technicians will then be sent to
disarm or blow up the explosive in place. At the bottom you see the words
“For training purposes only,” so this shows that it is a training leaflet to
be used in a scenario, probably involving an improvised explosive device.
The front and the back of the leaflet are the same. The text says in part:
If you see a homemade bomb, don’t touch it.
Point at it at from a distance of 300 meters.
Report it to Coalition Forces.
Conclusion
The U.S. military still trains today using mine awareness leaflets. An April 2005
article tells of the U.S. Army Reserve’s 7th Psychological Operations Group who will
deploy to Iraq in June 2005, training to persuade local civilians to beware of explosives.
Jessica Portner, writing for the Knight Ridder Newspapers says in part:
Army Reserve Staff Sgt. Logan Griffith, wearing fatigues and armed with a fake
rifle, passed out leaflets to Iraqi villagers with photos of exploding limbs to warn them
about land mines. Down a dirt road, a fellow soldier was telling the town's mayor through
an Arabic interpreter that the insurgents - and not the American soldiers - were their
enemy. The village actually was a cluster of old buildings on the decommissioned Fort Ord
in Monterey County, Calif. The Iraqis were actors, some of them Iraqi immigrants, others
from the military's Defense Language Institute down the road. And the 52 Reserve soldiers,
who were real, were training for the interpersonal and salesmanship skills they'll need
when they get to the real Iraq and mingle with real townspeople. Griffith's foray into the
village involved sounds of Arabic prayers and a reading of the Koran blasting from
loudspeakers, mobs of civilians shouting "Give me some cash" while others
defended the soldiers and shouted "Give them a chance."
In Iraq, U.S. jets have flown over Fallujah, depositing more than a million
handbills urging the city's insurgents not to fight. Iraqi police officers, meanwhile,
passed out leaflets featuring graphic pictures of injured Iraqi children.
At the end of
the war the Vietnam Commanders Digest Agreement I Feb 1973 Department of
Defence Booklet was published, a 15-page magazine with the cover Story –
"Secretary of State William P. Rogers signs agreement ending the Vietnam
War." This volume 13, number 15, 15 February 1973 edition displayed some
pages of the document. The United States pledged to remove the mines laid in
Vietnam, and North Vietnam pledged to recognize the sanctity of South
Vietnam. It sounded nice but did not work out so well. Here are some of the
paragraphs regarding mines. There are eight Articles in all.
PROTOCOL TO THE AGREEMENT ON ENDING THE WAR AND RESTORING PEACE IN
VIETNAM CONCERNING THE REMOVAL, PERMANENT DEACTIVATION, OR DESTRUCTION OF
MINES IN THE TERRITORIAL WATERS, PORTS, HARBORS, AND WATERWAYS OF THE
DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF VIETNAM
Article 1
The United
States shall clear all the mines it has placed in the territorial waters,
ports, harbors, and waterways of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam. This
mine clearing operation shall be accomplished by rendering the mine harmless
through removal, permanent deactivation, or destruction.
Article 2
With a view to
ensuring lasting safety for the movement of people and watercraft and the
protection of important installations, mines shall, on the request of the
Democratic Republic of Vietnam, be removed or destroyed in the indicated
areas; and whenever their removal or destruction is impossible, mines shall
be permanently deactivated and their emplacement clearly marked.
Article 3
The mine
clearing operation shall begin at twenty-four hundred (2400) hours GMT on
January 27, 1973. The representatives of the two parties shall consult
immediately on relevant factors and agree upon the earliest possible target
date for the completion of the work.
Article 4
The mine
clearing operation shall be conducted in accordance with priorities and
timing agreed upon by the two parties. For this purpose, representatives of
the two parties shall meet at an early date to reach agreement on a program
and a plan of implementation. To this end:
(a) The United
States shall provide its plan for mine clearing operations, including maps
of the minefields and information concerning the types, numbers and
properties of the mines.
(b) The
Democratic Republic of Vietnam shall provide all available maps and
hydrographic charts and indicate the mined places and all other potential
hazards to the mine clearing operations that the Democratic Republic of
Vietnam is aware of.
(c) The two
parties shall agree on the timing of implementation of each segment of the
plan and provide timely notice to the public at least forty-eight hours in
advance of the beginning of mine clearing operations for that segment.
The African Pouched Rat
In 2021, the website Together we Served published an article
titled "Landmines in Vietnam." This story told of a new method of Landmines
detection using rats. The article says in part:
Typically, clearing a minefield involves men in body armor walking
in very precise lines with metal detectors. A new method of bomb detection
using rats, however, is flipping this process on its head. A Belgian
Non-Governmental Organization called APOPO has developed a way to train
African pouched rats to sniff out bombs quickly and safely. They used rats
because they have an incredibly fine-tuned sense of smell and a long
lifespan (8-9 years) to yield returns on the nine months of training they
undergo. Not one has died in the line of duty since the program started in
1997.
The average mine requires 5 kilograms (roughly 11 pounds) of weight
to trigger an explosion, but even the biggest of these rats are only around
1.5 kilograms (3.3 pounds). Since they're trained to sniff out
explosives exclusively, they aren't distracted by other metal objects the
way human minesweepers are. They can effectively search 200 square meters in
less than 20 minutes. A team of humans would need around 25 hours to do the
same job. The rats are "paid" in avocados, peanuts, bananas, and other
healthy treats. After about 4-5 years on the job (or whenever they lose
interest in working), they're allowed to retire.
This article will never be finished. There are over 30 nations enrolled in the
U.S. demining initiative. Other nations face the problems on their own. We arbitrarily end
the article here, but will add more in the future when PSYOP makes new and innovative
inroads into the problem.
