Preparedness Notes for Sunday — July 31, 2022

July 31 is the birthday of free-market economist Milton Friedman. (He was born 1912, and died November 16, 2006.)

On July 31, 1958 the Anti-Chinese uprising began in Tibet.

July 31st, 1921, was the birthday of Army Air Corps veteran David Thatcher, one of the Doolittle Raiders. Thatcher was the tail gunner in the rear of the Mitchell B-25 medium bomber christened the Ruptured Duck, the seventh of 16 planes. Returning from the raid, the bomber crashed into the sea from low fuel and the crewmen survived, in no small part to Thatcher’s heroic efforts. The five airmen washed ashore and were given aid by Chinese fishermen who found them. Thatcher bound their wounds and being the only crewman able to walk, joined with armed guerrillas to carry the other crewmen to a hospital while evading Japanese troops. He was born in Bridger, Montana, and later lived in Missoula, Montana. He died in 2016, at age 94. Only one other Doolittle Raider outlived him: Dick Cole.

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SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present the final entry for Round 101 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest ^[1]. 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 ^[2]. 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 ^[3] (a $1,095 value),
3. A course certificate from onPoint Tactical for the prize winner’s choice of three-day civilian courses ^[4], excluding those restricted for military or government teams. Three-day onPoint courses normally cost $795,
4. Two cases of Mountain House freeze-dried assorted entrees ^[5] in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $350 value),
5. A $250 gift certificate good for any product ^[6] from Sunflower Ammo,
6. American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI) is providing a $300 certificate good towards any of their DVD training courses ^[7].
7. Two sets of The Civil Defense Manual, ^[8] (in two volumes) — a $193 value — kindly donated by the author, Jack Lawson.

Second Prize:

1. A Front Sight Lifetime Diamond Membership, providing lifetime low-cost 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 SIRT STIC AR-15/M4 Laser Training Package, courtesy of Next Level Training, that has a combined retail value of $679
3. Two 1,000-foot spools of full mil-spec U.S.-made 750 paracord ^[9] (in-stock colors only) from www.TOUGHGRID.com (a $240 value).
4. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections ^[10], a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,
5. A transferable $150 FRN purchase credit from Elk Creek Company ^[11], 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!

Third Prize:

1. Three sets each ^[12] 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 ^[13] Directive 21 (a $275 value),
3. A LogOX 3-in-1 Forestry MultiTool ^[14] (a $189 value) and a WoodOx Sling ^[15] (a $79.95 value), courtesy of LogOx ^[16], both made in USA.
4. A transferable $100 FRN purchase credit from Elk Creek Company ^[11], toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun.

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More than $725,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest. Round 102 begins on Monday, so get busy writing and e-mail ^[17] 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.