On Novermber 6, 1888, Benjamin Harrison of the Republican Party was elected U.S. president by an electoral majority despite losing the popular vote by more than 90,000 to his Democratic opponent, Grover Cleveland.

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Today in 1977, the Toccoa Falls Dam in Georgia gave way and 39 people died in the resulting flood. The dam was an earthen dam constructed across a canyon in 1887 and had a 55-acre lake that was 180 feet deep. The dam had recently been inspected and approved, but in the early morning hours, it gave way. Water flooded down the canyon at speeds approaching 120 mph. Below, residents of the Christian and Missionary Alliance College had no time to evacuate as the small community was wiped out.

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November 6, is the anniversary of the day that B-24 Liberator co-pilot Al Millspaugh was shot down over Sarajevo, Yugoslavia, in 1944. I got to know Al at some John Birch Society chapter meetings back in the late 1970s. Hearing his stories was fascinating. My novel Liberators is in part dedicated to Al Millspaugh. He is still alive and kicking and is quite a guy.

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We are still in need of entries for Round 109 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. More than $850,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest. We recently polled blog readers, asking for suggested article topics. Refer to that poll if you haven’t yet chosen an article topic. Round 109 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.

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There are several new listings over at SurvivalRealty.com. My eldest son Jonathan is now running that site as a full-time occupation, so look for a lot more listings to be added, in the weeks to come. When browsing the site recently, this listing jumped out at me: Ultimate New Zealand SHTF Property.

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Today’s feature article was penned by Field Gear Editor Emeritus, Pat Cascio. He has been in poor health, so he would appreciate your prayers.