[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 145 (Friday, October 7, 1994)]
[Senate]
[Page S]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: October 7, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                             KEN RUTHERFORD

  Mr. LEAHY. Madam President, earlier this year I held a hearing in the 
Foreign Operations Subcommittee on the global landmine crisis. There 
are 100 million unexploded landmines in over 60 countries. Every month, 
over 1,200 people, mostly innocent civilians going about their daily 
lives, step on these weapons and are either killed or lose a leg, an 
arm or both. In countries like Cambodia, Afghanistan, and Nicaragua, 
where physical labor is a way of life for almost everyone, losing a 
limb can destroy a person's future. When you go to these countries you 
see amputees crawling or hobbling in the street, begging for food, 
shunned by passers by.
  One of the witnesses at the hearing was Ken Rutherford, of Boulder, 
CO. Last year, Ken was working for the International Rescue Committee 
in Somalia, helping the Somali people rebuild their lives after the war 
and famine that devastated that country. On a day when Ken was riding 
in a jeep along a road that was regularly traveled on, his vehicle 
struck a landmine. When the dust settled, one of Ken's legs was gone 
and his other foot was practically destroyed. Fortunately, he was able 
to radio for help, and he was airlifted to a hospital.
  Ken has never uttered a word of bitterness about his fate. When he 
testified, he spoke about how lucky he was to be able to get help, and 
to be alive. A Somali alone in the desert would almost certainly have 
died from loss of blood. If he or she were lucky enough to survive, 
they would have had no way to get an artificial limb, and no way to 
make a living.
  At some point during the past year, between surgical operations and 
physical therapy, Ken made a pledge to himself. He was going to walk, 
unaided, down the aisle of the church when he and his fiance, Kim 
Schwers were married.
  Madam President, on September 10, 1994, Ken and Kim were married in a 
church in Boulder, and knowing how determined Ken was to walk down that 
aisle without assistance I was not the least bit surprised to learn 
that that is exactly what he did. He walked with an artificial leg, and 
without a crutch.
  Ken Rutherford is a source of hope for the hundreds of thousands of 
landmine victims all over the world. He has also become a powerful 
voice for outlawing these indiscriminate, cruel weapons. This is a goal 
I share, and which President Clinton, at the United Nations on 
September 26, embraced as a goal of the United States. I congratulate 
Ken and Kim, and wish them the very best. I ask unanimous consent that 
an article from the Denver Post about their wedding be printed in the 
Record.
  There being no objection, the article was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

                 [From the Denver Post, Sept. 11, 1994]

                   Man Stands on His Own for Wedding

                            (By Mary George)

       Boulder.--Ken Rutherford, whose feet were destroyed by a 
     land mine 10 months ago during a humanitarian mission in 
     Somalia, walked tall yesterday.
       Rutherford had some powerful motivation. When he returned 
     to his hometown of Boulder, he and fiancee Kim Schwers set 
     their wedding date for Sept. 10.
       ``I want to walk down the aisle,'' he resolved back then.
       He did just that.
       Aided by seven surgeries, nine months of physical therapy 
     and an audience of about 250 family and friends, Rutherford 
     greeted his bride yesterday at the altar of the First 
     Presbyterian Church.
       He stood on what remains of his left foot and the metal 
     pylon that serves as his right.
       ``This is a wedding unlike any other I've taken part in in 
     all my 42 years as a minister,'' said the Rev. Campbell 
     Gillon, who ministers at the Georgetown University 
     Presbyterian Church where Rutherford attended graduate 
     school.
       ``Unlike most couples, they've had their love tested 
     already,'' Gillon said. ``And they've come through shining.''
       Though the couple took advantage of two strategically 
     placed chairs during the sermon, readings and hymns, they 
     stood for their vows, the ceremonial lighting of candles and 
     their kiss.
       Then they descended from the altar, greeted their parents 
     and gracefully navigated the church aisle, their faces 
     beaming and the church rollicking with applause.
       ``Kim--without her, I couldn't have made it,'' Rutherford 
     said before the wedding. ``Marrying her is the most natural 
     thing in the world.''
       Walking is not.
       On Dec. 16, Rutherford, a relief worker in Somalia with the 
     International Rescue Committee, was riding in a vehicle that 
     struck a land mine. When the dust cleared, he looked down at 
     his feet.
       ``I saw a white bone sticking out where my right foot used 
     to be . . .'' he said. ``My left foot was still attached. I 
     had lost the fourth toe and (the) top part of my foot. Like 
     an X-ray, I could see the bones going to the remaining 
     toes.''
       Rutherford is campaigning for a proposal by Sen. Patrick 
     Leahy, D-Vt., that would ban U.S. land mine production. Land 
     mines kill or maim at least 1,200 people a month around the 
     world.
       ``There are more unexploded land mines than people in 
     places like Cambodia and Somalia,'' he said.
       Rarely are victims as fortunate as he was. Rutherford had 
     the best medical treatment and a job in which he uses his 
     head, not his feet.
       He still faces more surgery on what remains of his left 
     foot, where 25 of the 26 bones were broken or are missing.
       ``But I'm way beyond where I thought I'd be,'' he said. 
     ``I'll never have a normal foot again, but it's no big deal. 
     I can live with it.''

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