[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 54 (Wednesday, April 13, 2011)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E706]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         HONORING MARTIN CHASE

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. THEODORE E. DEUTCH

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, April 13, 2011

  Mr. DEUTCH. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize a hero from my 
district whose story I recently became aware of--Martin Chase.
  During the war in Vietnam, Martin was a civilian engineer that 
responded to his country's call to develop more conventional weapons. 
Our soldiers frequently were pinned down with no way out. To counter 
this situation, Martin developed a grenade that detonated on impact, 
giving U.S. troops a more effective means of protecting themselves and 
fighting the Viet Cong.
  When Martin's grenades were shipped to our troops overseas, Martin 
traveled with them to oversee the training and distribution of these 
new weapons. Upon arrival, Martin found himself in the middle of the 
Tet Offensive, and for the next 3 weeks followed our troops through 
some of the deadliest battles of the war in Vietnam.
  However, upon learning that his grenades were distributed to 
thousands of soldiers to use without training, Martin approached the 
American commanders, alerting them the grenades could result in 
countless deaths to American troops. In fact, Martin pointed out that 
if these new grenades were used without training, there could be more 
deaths to U.S. troops than enemy Viet Cong deaths. This heroic act of 
bravery prevented countless, unnecessary deaths of our soldiers.
  I am proud to have Marty as a constituent and have enjoyed getting to 
know him and his story. Martin believed in the power of truth. By 
confronting the war's needs for results, he saved countless lives. I 
wish him all the best and thank him for his service and courage during 
the war in Vietnam.

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