That anecdotal information brings back memories for me. My mother worked at the Rochdale H&R plant which manufactured the M16. I remember the day when Senator Kennedy showed up at the plant to put an end to those rumors. However, he refused to fire an M16 just after it had been dumped in the sand pit just outside the factory. He was supposed to 'show just how wonderful this weapon functioned when used in near actual combat' conditions. They rolled the M16 in the sand, shook and tapped it to remove most of the loose sand and handed it to him. His refusal really went over big for some mothers there who had sons in combat with M16s. I also remember one of those mothers telling my mother how she and her husband had bought a standard 6 round revolver, broket it down into small pieces, and shipped 'parts' to her son in Vietnam. She pointed out that this was the way many American soldires were protecting themselves when their M16 failed! So, I can guess you can say it was a scandal. The sad part though, it seems the same thing is happening TODAY in Afghanistan with the M4 our troops are using. How sad when history is repeated....
