Superman warns kids about land mines By MIKE BILLINGTON UPI Pentagon Reporter WASHINGTON, May 4 (UPI) _ Children in Nicaragua, Honduras, and Costa Rica will get help avoiding land mine injuries from an unusual source later this month _ a super hombre from another planet. A U.S. Army unit has designed a special Superman comic book warning kids about the dangers of land mines. Developed in conjunction with DC Comics, the oversized, 32-page comic book tells kids how to recognize a land mine and what to do if they find one, said Jay Thompson, an Army spokesman at Fort Bragg, N.C. Soldiers from the 1st Psychological Operations Battalion at Fort Bragg traveled to all three countries recently to talk to kids about what kind of land mine reading material would appeal to them most. ``Superman and Wonder Woman were the favorites,'' Thompson said, ``so we went with that.'' The comic books will be distributed in Costa Rica even though that country has not been in a war since the 1920s and does not have a standing army. ``But there have been wars in nearby countries and children who are out gathering firewood and playing don't always pay attention to national borders,'' Thompson said. ``Frankly, they just don't see any boundary lines.'' The Spanish-language comic book has educational activities and exercises children can do with each other or adults in addition to the Superman story. Last year the Army distributed a similar comic book to students in Bosnia to teach them about land mines and how to avoid being injured or killed by them, Thompson said. An exact date for distribution of the comic books has not been determined, Thompson said. Copyright 1998 by United Press International. All rights reserved.
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