US. Army Private Willard D. Merrill, was from Doverfoxcroft, Maine. He was captured by the Japanese and later died in a POW camp in 1942. He was just 21 years old.

Our weekly Snippets column is a collection of short items: responses to posted articles, practical self-sufficiency items, how-tos, lessons learned, tips and tricks, and news items — both from readers and from SurvivalBlog’s editors. Note that we may select some long e-mails for posting as separate letters.

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Reader Hollyberry wrote us last month:

“Not much excitement goes on in rural Maine, which is why we live here. Back in April this year, while reading the local paper, it ran a story on a local soldier that had died in WWII. The young man, US. Army Private Willard D. Merrill, was from Doverfoxcroft, Maine. He was captured by the Japanese and later died in a POW camp in 1942. He was just 21 years old. Pvt. Merrill was buried in a common grave. According to the Maine news outlets, the grave was exhumed in 1947 and the task of identifying the soldiers began. Three sets of remains were unidentifiable and were buried in the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial. He remained here until January 2019 when he was exhumed again and the remains were re-examined in an attempt to identify the three remaining soldiers. I do not know if the other two soldiers were identified. It was said that Pvt. Merrill would be returning home in June.

When my husband — a disabled Air Force veteran — read the story, he said we needed to go to honor this young man when he returns home. Life went on and the story faded from our minds until today, June 7^th, 2025. I looked at the local news and there was an article that Pvt. Merrill was returning home today!

It rained all day and the bugs are seriously thick right now. Pvt. Merrill was due to arrive around 8 pm. at the local funeral home. I kept checking the local news for updates in case the plane carrying him to Logan Airport in Boston was delayed and found one update that the escort procession had crossed into Maine at approximately 4:30. We left our home early figuring his remains would arrive earlier than 8 pm. As we were leaving the house, the rain finally stopped!

The road was blocked right at the funeral home and I could see people gathered. The fire truck was in the middle of the road with the ladder extended and from it hung an American flag. The Boy Scouts were also there holding flags, along with many veterans and just ordinary people welcoming this young man home. We had just made in time to see the remains transferred into the funeral home. He will be buried on June 9^th in the local cemetery.

We were very humbled to be able to be part of the crowd to witness Pvt. Merrill’s arrival home. This is why we went out on Saturday night. It was the least we could do for him and his family.”

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The latest video update from our favorite intrepid Finns: After 181 Days Frozen In, the Ice Breaks Up.

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The silent boom: How rising CO2 levels are making trees bigger and stronger.

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Reader L.E. wrote:

“Regarding the recent article about getting home or out of Dodge, I was safety warden at a major highrise in a major metro area, in charge of safely getting my floor out of the building in an emergency:

1 – The emergency exit doors and the elevator doors may be jammed shut if it was an earthquake or bomb. How would you break open a window a’la Die Hard?, using a chair and tied-together drapes to slide down. This only works if you are three stories or lower. If you do not have a crowbar/prybar you may not even get out of the building and will end up all piled up together at the bottom, suffocating.

2 – If you are able to get outside, stay away from tall buildings because of falling window glass and building tiles.

3 – If you have not prepared a go bag at all, at least assemble these items before you leave. Coat or office sweater, umbrella, box cutter or knife from breakroom (to be used as a defensive weapon), several sheets of paper, pen, scotch tape (to write and tape messages to inform others where you will be, etc), wad of paper towels from breakroom (unless you are not planning to ever need to go potty before you get home) and any food, water, cans of coke, candy bars etc that you can stuff in your pockets. If you have a pocket flashlight or can take one from the office, try to find extra batteries as well. I am assuming you won’t have any money on your person and the internet may be down so you can’t buy anything along the way home. Be sure to inform others in your group where you are going so eventually someone may remember to look for you along a particular route.

4 – Scared people may become defiant or stubborn and refuse to acknowledge anything is wrong. People may become hysterical and panicky because they don’t have a plan and having a meltdown ensures they get attention and help. Unless you want those people following you home, leave them behind. Don’t say anything about your preps or give them any advice, like feces, it will only attract flies.”

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SaraSue sent this snippet:

“I have mostly recovered from the hospital stay (internal bleeding) in April. I have the normal amount of energy, which means my iron levels have improved. I no longer need daily help milking cows and feeding the calf. I am grateful to my neighbors who helped me so much when I needed it. I was able to travel to be a part of one of my grandsons’ wedding, and I was able to host relatives here on the farm when I got home.

We are just coming out of a week long “heat dome” that made everything difficult, but I was up at 4am and got out to do chores and milking at 5am, gardening, and get back in the air conditioning by 7am. There have been many garden successes and a few failures, so I am planning and plotting on how to avoid the failures next year. I will replant what was eaten up by moths and slugs for Fall: cabbage, broccoli, sugar snap peas, etc. The garden abundance has allowed me to feed the chickens excess squash, zucchini, lettuce, spinach, kale, etc. At first, I felt bad that I wasn’t putting up the excess, then I realized how good it was for the chickens, which saves money on feed costs. My goal was/is to learn how to produce abundance, and I finally feel like I’m having great success. How many years has it taken?

I’ve made an arrangement with a family who harvest meat birds throughout the year. They borrow my large chicken plucker in exchange for chicken feet that I feed to my livestock guardian dogs. The dogs also get excess eggs, and beef bones from previously processed cows. The cats, kittens, and the calf I’m raising for beef, get excess milk from the cow. I’m slowly learning to feed the animals off the land.

I had a couple of heifers bred and hoping for 2026 Spring heifer calves. (They used sexed semen.)

I’ve learned a few interesting tidbits. We are swarming with June bugs this time of year. The crows have come in to eat them up, and interestingly, crows keep hawks away. They will stand on the chicken run posts as if they are sentinels. I learned that dragonflies will come in when the mosquitoes are thick, gobbling them up, and I rarely get bitten by a mosquito. The swallows will come in, soaring through the air with their mouths open early and late in the day, and eat up a lot of the flying insects. Wasps come out in the Spring and ward off the Carpenter Bees, although I have to keep on top of their nest building around the house and outbuildings. I hang up Carpenter Bee traps in early Spring to help with the excess. There is an abundance of pollinators here and many varieties of birds that successfully “sew” seeds. So much so that I have wild blackberries growing on all my fence lines, along with elderberry. Nature is fascinating when you have the time to observe.

There have been a few difficulties: a deader than a doornail truck that needs to be towed to the shop, a new air conditioning unit that leaked all over the attic insulation and ceiling, but as I like to say “no one or nothing died, so that’s a good day!” Keep going my friends!”

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Our friends Don & Patrice Lewis are making some rapid progress at their new ranch: Garden Update. That is one serious deer fence!

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Reader Animal House wrote:

“I read Sunday’s article about medical preparedness and would like to suggest families have portable oxygen generators at home for such emergencies. Back in 2019, in a comment, Tunnel Rabbit shared his list of “must-haves” with us. I ordered two portable oxygen generators, one small and one larger. Several months later, I got pneumonia and was able to self-treat comfortably at home using antibiotics and the oxygen generator. Far better for me than spending weeks in the hospital.

I realize young families are in a learning mode and will need the assistance of good medical care. But when you can’t get to a hospital, can’t afford a hospital, or don’t trust hospitals, having your own stash of medical books, antibiotics, and equipment may save many lives.”

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