Today is a very special Veterans Day/Poppy Day. This is the 100th anniversary of the armistice that ended World War I. (Then known as The Great War or quite naively as The War to End All Wars.) The armistice became effective at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918. Today, I’m thinking especially of my Great Uncle, Gus Wallach. He was very quiet about his service in World War I. He was a Stanford graduate who became a U.S. Army Lieutenant and fought in the trenches of France. Whenever I asked him about his service, he would start by saying: “War is a terrible thing.” How right he was. – JWR
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SurvivalBlog Writing Contest
Today features another entry for Round 79 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The nearly $11,000 worth of prizes for this round include:
First Prize:
- A $3000 gift certificate towards a Sol-Ark Solar Generator from Veteran owned Portable Solar LLC. The only EMP Hardened Solar Generator System available to the public.
- A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate. This can be used for any one, two, or three day course (a $1,095 value),
- 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,
- 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 (an $1,100 value),
- Two cases of Mountain House freeze-dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $350 value),
- A $250 gift certificate good for any product from Sunflower Ammo,
- American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI) is providing a $300 certificate good towards any of their DVD training courses.
Second Prize:
- A Model 175 Series Solar Generator provided by Quantum Harvest LLC (a $439 value),
- A Glock form factor SIRT laser training pistol and a SIRT AR-15/M4 Laser Training Bolt, courtesy of Next Level Training, which have a combined retail value of $589,
- A gift certificate for any two or three-day class from Max Velocity Tactical (a $600 value),
- A Three-Day Deluxe Emergency Kit from Emergency Essentials (a $190 value),
- RepackBox is providing a $300 gift certificate to their site, and
- 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).
Third Prize:
- A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
- A large handmade clothes drying rack, a washboard, and a Homesteading for Beginners DVD, all courtesy of The Homestead Store, with a combined value of $206,
- Expanded sets of both washable feminine pads and liners, donated by Naturally Cozy (a $185 retail value),
- Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,
- Mayflower Trading is donating a $200 gift certificate for homesteading appliances.
Round 79 ends on November 30th, 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.
In Flanders Fields
By John McCrae
In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie,
In Flanders fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.
1) In both WWI and WWII, France declared war on Germany and had to be rescued by America and Russia.
And the end result of that was that France got up yesterday , shot off its mouth like a little lapdog , and insulted both countries.
https://www.cnn.com/2018/11/11/politics/donald-trump-armistice-day-paris/index.html
2) In spite of the current quarrel between Russia and USA, I think it would have done much for world peace if Putin and Trump had ganged up yesterday and physically kicked the crap out of Macron.
And then noted that the ceremony honoring WWI dead was no longer a celebration of their sacrifice but a deep regret at the waste that gave us modern day France.
PS Someone might remind Macron that it was the French under Napoleon who invaded Russia — Russia did not invade France.
It is well that war is so terrible, other wise we would grow too fond of it. – Gen. Robert E. Lee, Army of Northern Virginia, and all Confederate ground forces, Commanding.
In 1969 I was assigned to body escort. I accompanied the bodies of Marines Killed In Action (KIA) back to their families. We who performed that duty are few in number, a “special forces” cadre if you will.
Seeing the pain in the eyes of a dead Marine’s wife, father, or mother will live with me for all my days.
Carry on.