Category: Note

August 8th is the birthday of Terry Nation (August 8th, 1930 – March 9th, 1997), who was a Welsh television writer and novelist. Nation wrote two series, Survivors and Blake’s 7, in the 1970s. Survivors was re-made a few years ago. — The new SurvivalRealty listing in North Carolina caught my eye: Heritage farm with operating winery. “This heritage farm rests gently in the valley on the footsteps of the Blue Ridge just 30 minutes east of the iconic town of Black Mountain (setting of the “One Second After” series by Bill Forstchen and a few minutes to the sprawling …

August 7th, 1933 was the birthday of Jerry Pournelle. He, along with Larry Niven authored the survivalist classic Lucifer’s Hammer. Jerry passed away on September 8, 2017, at 84 years of age. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 102 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include: First Prize: 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. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate. This can be used for any of their …

On 6 August 2011, a U.S. CH-47D Chinook military helicopter operating with the call sign Extortion 17 (spoken “one-seven”) was shot down while transporting an Immediate Reaction Force attempting to reinforce a Joint Special Operations Command unit of the 75th Ranger Regiment in the Tangi Valley in Maidan Wardak province, southwest of Kabul, Afghanistan. The resulting crash killed all 38 people on board – 25 US Navy SEALs, one pilot and two crewmen of the United States Army Reserve, one pilot and one crewman of the United States Army National Guard, seven members of the Afghan National Security Forces, and …

On 5 August, 1923, Hinderikus (“Henk”) Lucas Visser was born in Groningen, Holland. A veteran of the Dutch resistance during World War II, he was later involved in the CETME rifle project, the HK G3 rifle program, and several of Eugene Stoner’s projects, most notably the Stoner 63A1. He also did weapons design and tooling development for Mauser and Oerlikon. He was an ardent gun collector, whose collection formed the core of what became the Rijksmuseum gun collection in The Netherlands. (Pictured.) August 5th is also the sad anniversary of the Mann Gulch Fire in Montana that took the lives …

On August 4th, 1944, 15-year-old Jewish diarist Anne Frank and her family were captured by the Nazi Gestapo. The Franks had taken shelter in a small space in a sealed-off area of an Amsterdam warehouse along with another Jewish family and a single Jewish man. They were aided by Christian friends who brought them food and supplies. Her diary survived the war, overlooked by the Gestapo, but Anne and nearly all of the others perished in the Nazi death camps. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 102 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes …

On August 3rd, 1914, Germany and France both declared war on each other, formally beginning the First World War. — We have revised our rules for the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. Writers are now eligible to win any of the top three prizes once every six months. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 102 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include: First Prize: 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. …

August 2nd was the birthday of Peter O’Toole (1932–2013). When his name is mentioned, Lawrence of Arabia immediately comes to mind. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present the first entry for Round 102 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include: First Prize: 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. 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), A course …

On August 1, 1941 the first U.S. military Jeep rolled off the assembly line. On August 1, 1958 the US 1st class postage was increased to 4 cents. (It had been 3 cents for 26 years.) Today is the anniversary of the general uprising against the German occupation, in Warsaw, in 1944. Like the Warsaw Jewish Ghetto uprising in April of 1943, it was doomed to failure. The uprising was eventually crushed, with massive civilian casualties. There was no support provided by the Allies. The advancing Soviet Red Army–just a few miles to the east–merely waited and watched. It was …

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 …

Today we remember the birthday of author Reginald Bretnor. He was born Alfred Reginald Kahn on July 30, 1911, in Vladivostok. He died on July 22, 1992 in Medford, Oregon. In addition to penning many witty science fiction novels and short stories in his characteristic style, he also wrote nonfiction articles for Mel Tappan’s P.S. Letter  — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 101 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include: First Prize: The photovoltaic power specialists at Quantum Harvest LLC  are providing a store-wide 10% off coupon. Depending on the …

July 29,1805 was the birthday of Alexis-Charles-Henri Clérel de Tocqueville. He died 16 April 1859. He is best known for his lengthy treatise: Democracy In America. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present the final entry for Round 101 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. It will be posted in three parts. The prizes for this round include: First Prize: 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. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate. This can be used for any …

On July 28, 1932, U.S. Army troops, using tanks, cavalry, and tear gas demolished and burned the shanty town set up near the U.S. Capitol by unemployed Bonus Army protestors. July 28th is also the anniversary of the outbreak of World War I, in 1914. This war irreparably changed geopolitics. Officially, the war lasted until November 11, 1918, as did our involvement. But American troops were still running around shooting Russians until 1920. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 101 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include: First Prize: The …

July 27th is the birthday of Captain Samuel Whittemore (born in 1694, died February 3, 1793). He was an English-born American farmer and soldier. He was eighty years of age when he became the oldest known colonial combatant in the American War of Independence. Whittemore was in his fields when he spotted an approaching British relief brigade under Earl Percy. Whittemore loaded his musket and ambushed the British Grenadiers of the 47th Regiment of Foot from behind a nearby stone wall, killing one soldier. He then drew his dueling pistols, killed a second grenadier and mortally wounded a third. By …

On July 26th, 1931, a swarm of grasshoppers descended on crops throughout the American heartland, devastating millions of acres. Already in the midst of a bad drought, Iowa, Nebraska and South Dakota suffered tremendously. The swarms were said to be so thick that they blocked out the sun and one could shovel the grasshoppers with a scoop. While America has not seen infestations on such a scale since then, North Africa and parts of the Middle East continue to experience them. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 101 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The …

On this day in 1797 Horatio Nelson lost more than 300 men and his right arm during the failed conquest attempt on Tenerife (Spain). — An update on the Indiana mall shooting: Police: Armed bystander shot and killed Greenwood Park Mall shooter in just 15 seconds. JWR’s Comment: That young man, under stress, hit the bad guy 8 times out of 10, at a distance of 40 yards. I doubt that most of the “qualified” police officers could do what Elisjsha Dicken did. Great shooting! I predict two things:  1.) Elisjsha Dicken will be the recipient of numerous guns given …