Preparedness Notes for Friday — February 19, 2021

 Print This Post Email This Post Facebook Twitter Pinterest Reddit Google LinkedIn LinkedIn

Today is the birthday of Lee Marvin (1924–1987), who you may remember from The Professionals and The Big Red One.

—

SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 93 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include:

First Prize:

  1. The photovoltaic power specialists at Quantum Harvest LLC  are providing a store-wide 10% off coupon. Depending on the model chosen, this could be worth more than $2000.
  2. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate. This can be used for any of their one, two, or three-day course (a $1,095 value),
  3. A course certificate from onPoint Tactical for the prize winner’s choice of three-day civilian courses, excluding those restricted for military or government teams. Three-day onPoint courses normally cost $795,
  4. DRD Tactical is providing a 5.56 NATO QD Billet upper. These have hammer forged, chrome-lined barrels and a hard case, to go with your own AR lower. It will allow any standard AR-type rifle to have a quick change barrel. This can be assembled in less than one minute without the use of any tools. It also provides a compact carry capability in a hard case or in 3-day pack (a $1,100 value),
  5. Two cases of Mountain House freeze-dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $350 value),
  6. A $250 gift certificate good for any product from Sunflower Ammo,
  7. American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI) is providing a $300 certificate good towards any of their DVD training courses.

Second Prize:

  1. A Front Sight Lifetime Diamond Membership, providing lifetime free training at any Front Sight Nevada course, with no limit on repeating classes. This prize is courtesy of a SurvivalBlog reader who prefers to be anonymous.
  2. A Glock form factor SIRT laser training pistol and a SIRT AR-15/M4 Laser Training Bolt, courtesy of Next Level Training, that have a combined retail value of $589,
  3. Two 1,000-foot spools of full mil-spec U.S.-made 750 paracord (in-stock colors only) from www.TOUGHGRID.com (a $240 value).
  4. Naturally Cozy is donating a “Prepper Pack” Menstrual Kit.  This kit contains 18 pads and it comes vacuum-sealed for long term storage or slips easily into a bugout bag.  The value of this kit is $220.
  5. An assortment of products along with a one-hour consultation on health and wellness from Pruitt’s Tree Resin (a $265 value).

Third Prize:

  1. Three sets each of made-in-USA regular and wide-mouth reusable canning lids. (This is a total of 300 lids and 600 gaskets.) This prize is courtesy of Harvest Guard (a $270 value)
  2. A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
  3. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,
  4. A transferable $150 purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun. There is no paperwork required for delivery of pre-1899 guns into most states, making them the last bastion of firearms purchasing privacy!

Round 93 ends on March 31st, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and that articles on practical “how-to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging.

 


21 Comments

  2. I read where Lee Marvin was a marine and fought for USA on the pacific islands. I also read of about a dozen more great actors who were heros in ww2. Even Mr Rogers. I think Lee was one of a dozen truly great actors who loved America. How hollywood has changed. But, Lee was great in all his movies, Liberty Valence was another one. RIP

    1. Mr. Rogers was never in the military. That is one of the more popular urban legends about him, that he always wore sweaters to cover up the military tattoos on his arms because he was a sniper in Vietnam. He was born in 1928, and was too young for Korea and too old for Vietnam. Another common urban myth about him was that he never had actual children on his show was because he was a convicted sex offender. The truth is that when he started in television in 1951, it was all live audiences, and children could behave impulsively, so he did not have them on his show. A little known fact about Mr. Rogers is that he graduated magma cum laude from Pittsburgh Theological Seminary in 1962 and was an ordained Presbyterian minister. He believed his mission as an ordained minister, instead of being a pastor of a church, was to minister to children and their families through television.

      1. “Mr. Rogers was never in the military. That is one of the more popular urban legends about him…”.

        Of course, that’s exactly what a high-level OSS operator would WANT you to think…

      2. Heisenberg, thank you for setting the record straight. So many allegations fly around public people. We are, IMO, called by Jesus to check out online gossip and correct it instead of pass it on without investigation.

        Romans 13:8-10

        8 Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law. 9 The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not covet,” and whatever other command there may be, are summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” 10 Love does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.

        Carry on

    2. The WW2 era was a different America. A lot of Americans, such as Lee Marvin, served in the US Military.
      I started school in the early 1950s; I had a number of school teachers, that served in the US Military during WW2. … Some served in Combat. One teacher even spent most of WW2 in a Japanese Prisoner of War Camp. … The school district even allowed the teacher ~ one day (in all his classes), to talk about the ~years he spent as a prisoner of war ~ POW.

      Public School Teachers!
      I doubt if a school district would allow a teacher to talk about his horrific experiences as a POW (Or even hire the guy) now days.
      My teacher was very polite about his captors (At least in Class);
      Yes, he was tortured; Yes, he did see helpless men collapsed on the ground, being bayoneted to death; Yes, he had to work, and fed starvation rations.

      He was over 6 feet tall, but not bulky muscular like men now days. I forget his ~exact weight, when he was liberated from the Camp, after the war ended. The man weight was less than 100 pounds, when he was freed, as I remember. … He was placed in hospital.

      In retrospect, I think the man must have been a Christian, and believed: =

      “For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.”
      [ESV Matthew 6 14-15]

      1. GGHD, I don’t know what teachers are allowed to discuss. I do know that schools have invited me and other veterans in my circle to speak about our time in the military. Several men saw combat in Vietnam, one was an Army medic.

        Schools are the most local government function and we have, as a result, a great deal more leverage than we may believe. Most of the school districts I am aware of go begging for people who want to serve on the school board, parent teacher organization, or planning committees.

        Putting our complaints into action creates change. It is one way we express the love we are commanded to show our neighbor.

        Did Jesus say loving our neighbor would be easy?

        Carry on

        1. Once a Marine; Always a Marine: Thank you for your insight. … All I actually know about the public schools now days, is what I know from the news. … God Bless the teachers and school districts, that still honor the US Military, and our Veterans.

          Out here in CrazyLand, it seems all the news stories about our public schools, are actually advertisements, for home schooling kids, or sending the kids to Parochial Schools.

          Why am I still living in CrazyLand? = Family. But, I do keep a can of spray paint handy, in case I have to leave. … I plan to paint, “Redoubt Region or Bust!” on the side of my car. = Similar to the Motto placed on the sides of Wagons headed West in the pioneer days.

          You’re right! The Good Book said it wouldn’t be easy. =
          “In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be ~persecuted, while evildoers and impostors will go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.”

          1. To be clear, GGHD. I don’t always do the “Rah,Rah, Patriotic Thing.” I tell the truth abut what I was part of in the Marine Corps.

            I also tell the youngsters that my uniform did not make me a patriot or a hero. I consider the people who deliver my mail and pick up my garbage in deep winter true heroes. The snowplow drivers, going 12-16 hours at a time through a blizzard. The truck drivers bringing food to my community. Heroes to me.

            I also will not speak for or against the military. I want the young’uns to take my words and make their own choices. My dad, who was a Marine at Guadalcanal staunchly opposed my enlisting in 1968. My mom told me years later that as they saw me off, he wept and said, “He doesn’t know what he is getting into.” He and I were not close enough for me to
            hear his words or see his tears. I wish he could see the tears I am shedding as I write this.

            Like those I speak to in the schools, I had to choose and live with that.

            Carry on

        2. Thank you for being a Marine, Once a Marine; Always a Marine. … I’ve heard similar advice from a Marine too. …. …. Plus, every combat Veteran, I personally know, ~don’t always do the “Rah,Rah, Patriotic Thing.”~ ……. When I’ve seen people talk about combat, ‘it actually shows on a man’s face, if he has killed someone, or seen dead people stacked like cordwood.’
          …… There’s an authentic look, that an actor in the movies can’t replicate. Combat Veterans can spot an authentic facial expression. … Regular people can know an authentic ‘look’ on other ‘regular’ people too. … I’ve seen the same ‘look’ on people, that accidentally killed people, in civilian life. Killing people affects the soul.
          …… Trump did a good thing when he reformed the Veterans Administration.

          My experiences in a ‘Blue City’ has been entirely different, than yours. … … If I was more poetic, I’d write a Sonnet, about how the person sleeping with one eye open at night, will live to see the morning light.
          ……. Once a Marine must have that tough Marine Corps’ look. … The Villains must have said, ‘The effort will be too difficult, and the reward too little.’ … It would have to personal to put in all the effort.

          To explain the Marine Corps ~look to the wood splitters here at SurvivalBlog. … Some pieces of the log are so full of knots and twisting wood, they’re really NOT worth splitting with an axe; it’s too difficult. … If a chainsaw is used; the cutters will dull, and the chain might break, or get caught in the log.
          …… Villains are wary of a physically fit Marine, with the Marine Corps attitude and look.

          God Bless the US Military!

          1. I appreciate your reply, GGHD.

            Was your experience in a blue city painful? I’m glad you survived whatever it was to be here with the rest of us here on SB.

            Carry on

  3. Lee Marvin was one of the best. My favorite movie was Emperor of the north.

    Here’s a link to a lot of surprising trivia about him. He was a sniper in WW II Pacific Theater and buried at Arlington, but was anti-war.

    https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001511/bio?ref_=nm_dyk_qt_sm#quotes

    “I remember the uniform of flesh, not the clothing. I remember the men. The war effort, at that time, was a condoned worldwide effort for peace and freedom. But uniforms, even then, seemed to take identity away from the individual. It’s the mentality of the uniform that I don’t like; I attack the uniform as a symbol of that mentality.” It’s not called a “uniform” for nothing. If only more people could understand the difference between the soldier and the military.

    1. Thank you, StF, for opening that door. I am fascinated to read about Lee Marvin.

      Here are a few things I found.

      He was one of the first Hollywood celebrities to declare his support for the gay rights movement, in his “Playboy” interview from January 1969. (This may be unpopular on SB. I stand with brother Marvin in supporting the rights of gay people, many of whom I hold in my heart.

      John 13:34 “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.”)

      Served as a Marine in the Pacific theater during WW2. In total, he took part in the invasions of 21 islands and was wounded and nearly died as a result during the Battle of Saipan, an engagement in which most of his unit was killed. He was a sniper and would be sent in during the night in a small rubber boat, prior to the rest of his platoon. He was awarded a Purple Heart for his wounds, and spent 13 months in therapy recovering from them. His wartime experiences deeply affected him for the remainder of his life. (I was never as tough as brother Marvin. I was never as tough as many other Marines I knew. I sure wanted to be tough. Sigh.)

      Lee Marvin played a minor role in a great movie, Bad Day at Black Rock (1955). The plot concerns justice and standing up to a bully. A powerful statement. I watched the movie many years ago. Perhaps the time has come to see it again.

      Here is a short excerpt that speaks to my condition of allowing fear to block me from action.

      John J. Macreedy: I got a problem of my own.

      Doc T.R. Velie Jr.: You sure have, they’re going to kill you with no hard feelings.

      John J. Macreedy: And you’re going to sit there and let ’em do it.

      Doc T.R. Velie Jr.: Don’t get waspish with me, mister.

      John J. Macreedy: Oh, I’m sorry, I, uh…

      Doc T.R. Velie Jr.: Yeah, well, I feel for you, but I’m consumed with apathy. Why should I mix in?

      Carry on

    1. Thank you, Wally. That link gave me a little more insight into Lee Marvin.

      Ned Wynn, son of Lee Marvin’s best friend, Keenan Wynn said this:

      Keenan Wynn (left) and lifelong best friend Lee Marvin shown in their dirt bike days. They shared many things, including their political viewpoints.

      “I think politically correct thinking would have driven him nuts. Guys like him and my dad were the furthest thing from that kind of thing… but like most people in Hollywood he was a Democrat. Most people in Hollywood are more reflexive Democrats. My dad and Lee weren’t like that. They weren’t what you call ‘Limousine Liberals.’ They weren’t knee-jerk reactionaries. They were big on taking responsibility for your actions, even if they themselves always didn’t

      And, let’s be clear. Many of our fellow commenters have expressed mixed feelings about DJT, 45. We, being human, have a great diversity of opinions. I am grateful that we treat each other civilly, even in disagreement.

      Carry on

  7. Fred Rogers would have been too young for WWII (unless he would have lied about his age) but he would have been 22 years old in 1950 so he easily could have made Korea, if he’d of had a mind to. He had lots of company in not having a mind to…

    1. Well said, Wild.

      Anytime anyone is tempted to romanticize war, just read some of the accounts of men who survived the Korean winter of 1950. My hands hurt just thinking about the pain and frostbite those young guys experienced. All while facing hordes of Chinese soldiers intent on killing them…rifle fire, and, oh my god, artillery.

      Carry on

      1. My dad was in frozen Korea May 51 to April 52. B-1-7th Infantry. Rock of the Marne.

        I’ve taken him to appointments for PTSD, hearing, and foot damage from frost in the past 4 weeks. At 91YO, he finally applied for and now gets some VA disability payments. Life is winding down while his issues increase and character degrades. A cost of war.

        I’m praying the Dotard won’t let his advisors get us into another wrongful war, but we maintain a good defense. If his cabinet are as ridiculous as his press speaker and tranny, cling to John 16:33.

Comments are closed.