Jerry Buis passed away at his home in Snyder Indian on July 8, 2023.  Jerry was one of the four original camping club kids that founded the Ticonderoga Sports Club that evolved into Live Free USA.  Jerry was an officer in Live Free for decades, and was a first aid instructor and headed the Survival Medics group through the 80’s and 90’s.  He was an avid hunter and fisherman.  Jerry also worked as a Red Cross volunteer and worked at disasters throughout the United States.  He shared many campfires and adventures with Live Free members throughout the years and was a key factor in developing Camp Independence in the late 1960’s. He will be sorely missed by us all.  He is survived by his wife Pat and daughter Patricia who are also active with Live Free.

Note: This is the second founder to pass away in the past twelve months, and the sixth core group member lost within the past three years

While the annual meeting is still months away (March 25, 2022) Live Free USA is now accepting nominations for the Board of Directors.  Whereas most previous board members have been located in the Great Lakes region, we are a national organization and are very much committed to broadening our leadership. Since board meetings are now held online, and projects are shared on various internet platforms there is no reason that members from coast-to-coast cannot become officers. As of this date there are at least three directorships that are up for reelection and three currently unfilled positions that are available. Officers are elected for three-year terms and are expected to take on various duties and projects as specified in the bylaws. Directorship is an opportunity to be a part of America’s original survival and preparedness organization. Members can place themselves or others into nomination by e-mailing survivorjj@aol.com or writing to Live Free USA, PO Box, 3295 Munster IN 46321.  Please provide a brief description of why you want to be nominated.  

William Robb passed away on July eighth 2022 after a short but valiant battle with lymphoma.  Bill Robb was one of Live Free USA’s founding members. The organization started off as an informal group of high school kids who liked to go camping.  Being rather poor, we had to put together improvised equipment and hike or bike to local woods. We also had to face the inevitable challenges of survival on Chicago’s Southside.

Bill was in the Fenger High school ROTC and then majored in mathematics at the University of Illinois Chicago campus.   Just out of collage he joined the Army and was posted to the Pentagon were he did programming and coding in the early days of the computer age.  After the Army he was employed for many years by Sears where he helped establish their order and inventory tracking systems. Later he was employed as a department manager for Blue Cross / Blue Shield. Bill and his wife Laurie resided in Munster Indiana.  They had a daughter Melissa and two grandsons. In the early days of the organization Bill was a key factor in developing our organization and its philosophy. He participated in numerous campouts, and events as the organization grew from a small local sports club to a nationally recognized self-reliance advocacy and education organization.

While Bill never held an official office in Live Free USA he performed many essential tasks until only a few weeks before his passing.Bill was loyal, intelligent, and well grounded. William Robb will be greatly missed and always remembered.  His contribution to the organization and his friendship will live on.  

We deeply regret to announce the passing of Keith Allen Simpson at the age of 78. Keith was a valued member and former officer of Live Free USA.  He was a Vietnam War veteran who joined along with several other veterans back in the 1980’s. Keith participated in dozens of events and training activities over four decades, and often made presentations for the members at Camp Independence. Keith is the fifth Live Free current or past Director to pass in the last three years.  He is one of the steadfast supporters that kept us going. He will be sorely missed and long remembered by all. In lieu of flowers the family asks that memorial donations be made to the wounded warrior's project, in Keith's name. Donations can be made at The Wounded Warrior Project.

Brian was one of a group that joined Live Free USA in the early 1980’s after we had been featured on numerous TV and radio programs in the Chicago area.  Brian was a Vietnam veteran, a French and Indian war reenactor, and a certified Live Free Survival Instructor. Brian served as an officer of Live Free for many years, and was the leader of the remaining Southwest Chicago Live Free chapter. We remember many an adventure and many campfire times with Brian. He will be greatly missed by all who knew him.

Brian passed just a few days after the passing of his wife Diane, and is survived by his son Jason. This is the third Live Free core group member that has left use within the past 18 months.

The new May/June PANDEMIC SPECIAL ISSUE of American Survivor has been posted as a PDF to the Members Only/American Survivor page for paid members.  

Also:  the new Live Free USA Members Handbook PDF has been posted to the Members Only/Special Publications page.  This is a 62 page document that includes information about Live Free's mission, operations, history and organization as well as practical survival and preparedness articles from over fifty years of experience as America's first and best survival preparedness education organization.  The contents is listed below.

Section One Membership

1. History of Live Free USA
2. Members Pledge
3. Ten Foundations of Membership
4. Bylaws Abridged and Explained
5. The Live Free Shield (logo)
6. The Live Free Motto
7. The Brotherhood of the Survival Pack
8. The Order of the Firewatch
9. We Are Survivalists
10. Personal Declaration of Independence
11. Organizing a Survival Team
12. Live Free Chapters and Affiliated Groups

Section Two Survival and Preparedness

1. Preparedness Overview
2. The Ten Principles of Survival
3. Personal Preparedness Scoresheet
4. Home Safety Checklist
5. Eight Medical Skills
6. Everyday Carry Items List
7. Bedside Drawer List
8. Surviving the First Seventy-two Hours
9. Home Survival Gear List
10. Vehicle Emergency Gear List
11. Outdoor Survival Pack List
12. Get Home Bag List
13. Evacuation Pack List
14. Bugout/Survival Pack List

A printed version will be available later this year.

Just after we printed American Survivor in April, we were notified that Tom Garza had passed away from a heart attack on April 7th at the age of 57.   Tom attended one of our meeting several years ago and became an enthusiastic and active member.  Tom became involved in our programs and was a generous supporter.  Both of Tom’s sons, Zach and Will, became members.  All three of them were elected to Offices on the Live Free USA Board of Directors in 2019.  Tom became a friend to many of us, and his knowledge, leadership and calm presence will be missed.

Thomas A. “TAG” Garza of Hebron, Indiana passed into God’s Kingdom early in the morning of April 7^th. He was 57 years old.  He was a faithful man of God dedicated to walking the in the light of the Lord and studying his word. He leaves behind his wife of 35 years, Justine M. Garza (O’Connor), and sons Thomas Zachary & William Joseph Garza. He was born on December 26, 1962, in Hammond, IN, the son of Therese Cesar and the late Jesse Garza.  He was a loving brother to his five siblings: Susan, Joseph, William, Daniel, and the late Robert Garza.  He graduated from: Munster High School in Munster, IN; Indiana University, Bloomington, IN; The Kelley School of Business at Indiana University, Bloomington, IN. He was an American patriot who served in the U.S. Army as a Captain.  He worked as a commercial banker for the first 20 years of his career before leaving the corporate world to build his own company with his two sons and wife by his side. Throughout his life he belonged to many organizations including The Chicago Athletic Association, The University Club of Chicago, Beta Gamma Sigma and more. Most recently he sat on the board of LiveFree USA the nation’s oldest preparedness organization. Due to the current CCP virus pandemic, the memorial service will be held at a later date.  Please visit www.TomGarza.com to sign up for email notifications, share your favorite TAG story, and make donations to the TAG (That Awesome Guy) Memorial Fund in lieu of flowers.  You can also share your favorite TAG story by calling (254) TAG-TALK (824-8255).

“Enjoy it while you can. Weather the storms when you can’t. Cherish and pursue God and each other throughout.”

– TAG

When the current crisis is past the odds of another pandemic or other world-wide emergency are exactly the same as they were the day before this one started. There is absolutely no excuse for a sigh of relief, or period of apathy.

I was talking with a few long-time members a few weeks before the coronavirus outbreak prohibited meetings and closed the stores. I mentioned that I had a stock of N95 masks and latex gloves at home and a few in my pockets.  I said “as am sure you all do too”, but instead of hearing “oh yea” or “absolutely” I got uncomfortable silence.  I realized that while I had gotten lip service, nods and even applause for my books, articles and presentations, many had ignored or procrastinated on actually following my recommendations.  Of course, by the time of that conversation N95 respirators and latex gloves were already impossible to find.  Yes! I actually meant that people needed to do the things that I advocated NOW (years ago) not wait until the emergencies occurred.  As a Safety Manager in industry, I was constantly fighting to keep employees safe by wearing safety-glasses, and safety-shoes. The employee’s priority was comfort over safety, until it was too late.  While in Oakland California examining how the factory there was recovering from the 1994 Northridge earthquake, I visited a local big-box store, and found earthquake preparedness kits on a “closeout sale” collecting dust as apathy had already set in.  Over my fifty-plus years of advocating, writing about, and teaching emergency preparedness I have been subject to disparagement and even derision.  It is human nature to not want to think about bad things. It is human nature to put off preparedness in favor of immediate needs. Disasters are things that happen to other people at other times, right?

Nature and human nature dictate that there will be a next major emergency and human nature dictates that many humans will not be prepared for it. Natural disasters are just nature’s way of adjusting geological, and biological imbalances. It’s nothing personal, but nature doesn’t care what gets destroyed (civilization) or what gets killed (us) in the proses.  Man-made disasters are the product of human pride, complacency, greed, hubris and arrogance. We make them happen or we let them happen and we make them worse. They are unavoidable because humans are human.

History tells us that after major disasters a period of lethargy and over confidence sets in.  It is natural for people and governments to focus on preparing for the most recent disaster at the expense of recognizing and preparing for other types of threats. FEMA was focused on the nuclear threat when 9/11 happened, they were prepared for Terrorism when Katrina hit the Gulf Coast. They have been focused on climate related issues until the pandemic. We can be sure that FEMA will focus on being more prepared for the next (there will be a next) pandemic, they will be less prepared for other mass disasters including cyber-attacks, nuclear events, mass civil disorder and other “surprise disasters”.  Disasters are by nature, unpredictable in character and scope, and it is impossible for any national or state government to have everything and everyone needed to respond to every possible scenario.  In reality a major disaster like the current one will deplete resources, damage the economy, and create social instability, that makes further disasters more likely.

For those of you who ignored our recommendations in the past and were lucky enough to get through this disaster, now is the time to get serious about preparedness!  You have survived a “near miss” that should be a wakeup call not an excuse for complacency and procrastination.  You have been granted this opportunity to save yourself and your family in the future. Some get a second chance, few get a third.

  For those of you who were prepared and used your acquired skills and equipment to ride out the virus and the secondary effects of shortages, disorder, and unemployment, this is the time to restock and rededicate to preparedness like never before. The next disaster could be next week, next year or a few years off, and yes it could be even worse and of longer duration.

Again: being able to shelter in place and survive completely isolated from society and completely independent of the grid for food, water, sanitation, medical care, police protection, and other critical needs for from 60 to 90 days (minimum)  is the ONLY way to survive most serious emergencies.

Again: being able to evacuate from your home and community in the event that your home is destroyed or unsafe is a necessity, but should be avoided when possible.

Surviving one disaster does not make you any safer or less likely to be faced with another-one, but it should make you smarter tougher and more prepared

While you can’t shoot a virus or a hurricane, civil unrest often follows any kind of disaster and may kill as many or more than the original cause of a disaster. Having some form of firearm available must be part of your preparedness. Socio-economic disruption generates increased crime and the potential for civil disorder when police response may be limited or unavailable. I such cases you are responsible for the protection of your own life and that of loved ones.

Finally: we hope that we will receive more support from the public and more active support from our members after this first example of the new normal for the twenty-first century.  Membership has been declining for the past several years and members (even officers) have put very few hours into helping us. We are the only not-for-profit, tax-deductible organization dedicated to promoting individual and family emergency preparedness, yet our future survival is in doubt?  We have never received a sponsorship, grant or significant contribution.  We can only hope to be around to inform and educate good citizens to face future survival challenges.

What Has Past Is Prologue

It’s not like we didn’t see this coming. The inevitably of a world-wide pandemic has been addressed in multiple ways for the past decade in issues of American Survivor. These back issues are available to all online members.

• Asymmetrical Disaster, May/June 2019
• Hunkering Down or Bugging Out: Jan/Feb 2019
• Almost Human Extinction, Sept/Oct 2018
• Surprise Disasters, July/Aug 2017
• How Prepared is America, Sept/Oct 2016
• Descent into Chaos, Jan/Feb 2015
• Ebola and Other Frights, Nov/Dec 2014
• Aftermath: Recovery from Disaster, Nov/Dec 2014
• Viruses: Double Trouble for Humanity, May June 2013
• Practical Hazmat Protection (including decontamination, proper us of N95 masks and six ways to protect against Nuclear, Chemical and Biological contamination) ,May/June 2012

1. Increase public awareness of the unavoidable economic decline and associated disasters, emergencies, hardships and conflicts that it will generate in the next decades.
2. Proved a variety of educational programs and training events that will help good people adapt to the future challenges and survive the very serious dangers and disasters to come.
3. Build a national network of chapters that can provide improved survival resources for their members and be a framework for community survival, as situations grow more severe.

In the coming months Live Free USA will be moving forward with several projects and improvements.  The challenges and hazards of the coming years demands that we strengthen our base and expand our membership.  With a larger and more active board of directors we are now able to pursue multiple objectives.

Website Improvement

We are working to creat a more attractive and interactive website with more functions for online members. We also hope to have more activity in the survival medicine, chapter activities, and other specialized pages. We are also exploring ways to offer discounts to members who purchase survival gear through the site.

Chapter and Affiliated Organization Support

One of our directors will function as the Chapter, Affiliate Coordinator, regularly communicating with each chapter and providing support and and involvement.  A Chapter Leaders handbook will be available by early 2020 and maybe a regular Chapter Leaders online newsletter.to follow.

Permanent Survival Training Facility

A land-site in northern Indiana is being developed as a site to conduct advance survival and self-reliance training operations.  This site should be available in early 2020. The site will include campsites, sanitary facilites, a traing building, and a rifle and pistol range. We are seeking donations and pledges to help us make improvements and maintain the facility.

Added Value to Membership

 A members Handbook will be available by the end of 2019.  The book wil include information about Live Free organization and philosophy, but will also containe valuable survival information.   It will be available online free and a printed version will be available at nominal cost.  We may increase membership fees slightly and include the handbook with all new memberships. Other ideas are being considerd to add value to membership.

Expanded Survival Instructors and Programs

Camp Independence will continue at Tippecanoe River State Park in Indiana, but may be franchised to other locations throughout the USA.  We also plan to revive our Certified Survival Instructors program to develop new instructors and support current instructors.

Opportunities to Get Involved

We currently have two opening for Directors to the Board of Directors.  These posted can be filled by designation by the board untill the next election.  Filling these posts will definitely help us reach the above goals. Additionally the board is authorized to designate Deputy Directors and establish teams to work on projects.  We would welcome hearing from members new and old who want to get involved and active. Since we now use the internet and online meetings it is not necessary for officers to reside in any nearby location.

THANK YOU to all of our wonderful speakers, donors, and volunteers!
Your participation, generosity, and expertise shared, helped to create another successful Camp Independence that was enjoyed by all attending.

Congratulations to Angela Sander,
winner of the Infinity Solutions Pistol Class.

Ultimately, gun rights are about the right to life and freedom.  There is no point in talking about emergency preparedness, survival and self-reliance for an unarmed population.

Live Free USA began as a shooting club in the late 1960s.  By the 1970s guns and gun ownership was under such assault that being a “gun club” in Chicago was impossible. It is probably impossible for any of our readers now to comprehend the level of harassment, persecutions, prosecution and prohibitions imposed on us in those times. It seemed inevitable that we would be forced to use muzzle loaders and cross-bows in defense of our lives and our freedoms. The NRA at that time was not a political force and liberals ran rough-shod over the constitution and anyone who sought to exercise the second amendment rights.  Live Free broadened our activities to include survival education and civil-defense while keeping our gun related activity’s underground.  The acceptability of shooting sports, concealed-carry and military-style rifles today has been achieved through decades of struggle.  Since there are many great gun-rights advocacy groups today, Live Free focuses on our core survival and self-reliance mission, but remembering that the capacity for armed defense and resistance is an essential part of survival and self-reliance, I will enumerate some of our positions related to the issue of so-called military-style rifles that have been so maligned in recent weeks.

The ownership of so-called, military-style rifles with high-capacity magazines has nothing to do with hunting or sports shooting. It’s about citizens maintaining the potential to resist foreign or domestic subjugation and oppression.  This does not imply that owners of such weapons are revolutionary, extremists or members of formal militias. They consciously or subconsciously accept the reality that the freedom and security of their families and future generations depends on maintaining the balance of force between the state and the people.  Owners of these weapons have the upmost respect for the laws and the government, but they do so by choice and responsibility, not by fear and submission.

The major difference between the way American citizens think and the way subjects of other countries think originates from the fact that most other peoples were granted their liberties by the state and still believe that power flows from the state, while Americans fought for their freedoms and know that they are the ultimate source of freedoms and authority.  This difference in origins creates an instinctual propensity to be armed or have access to arms that is not shared by citizens of other nations. It is no coincident that America has the oldest government on the planet and the most individual freedoms.

Ultimately: the right to keep and bear arms” is an extension of the human right to self-protection that exists regardless of written laws.  It follows that one must have the means to exercise that right.  One cannot be expected to defend oneself against an armed assailant or an oppressive despot with anything less than what that assailant or oppressor may have. We could not exercise the right to free speech if we were limited to old printing presses while the government controlled the mass media and the internet.  We could not exercise freedom of religion if it was limited to only ancient texts and methods.  So we cannot effectively exercise the right to keep and bear arms if we are limited to anything less than the best and most modern equipment.

The constitution does not say “hunting being a necessity”, it does not say “the ability to resist crime being important” it says “A well-regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed”.  There is no ambiguity in this sentence. The second amendment is about military-style arms.  We are guaranteed the right to own, keep and bear military-style arms by the constitution.  The term “regulated” in the eighteens century was defined as well managed or well-maintained, but not regulated by law as the word is used today. The final four words “shall not be infringed” specifically prohibits any form of taxation or governmental action that interferes with this essential right.  The founders did use the generic term ”arms” even though the contemporary “arms” were muzzle-loading muskets and swords.  In fact they were referring to the “military-style” weapons of that time, but these were intelligent, forward thinking man who anticipated advancements and certainly wanted future citizens to “keep and bear” arms that would be equal to those of criminals, invaders and would-be tyrants of the future.

The missus of a right by a few does not justify the prohibition of that right to others.  Trading freedom and responsibility for safety is the poorest bargain a people can make.  Ask the Russians, or the Chines, or the North Koreans or the Mexicans or anyone from a hundred oppressed, depressed and crime-ridden nations that we do not want to live in. The loss of lives caused by a few evil and mentally-ill individuals is truly tragic, but cannot justify turning our back on the freedoms that were bought with the lives and sacrifices of generations of veterans.  Yes, they died for the second amendment as well as our other freedoms and surrendering any of those freedoms is a betrayal of their sacrifices.

In a world spiraling towards increasing political strife, civil disorder, street crime, economic instability, potential epidemics, increasingly severe disasters and terrorist activities, only the most irresponsible and pacified citizen can fail to see their duty to be prepared to meet violent situations in the future.  While the anti-gun movement may be lead (or mislead) by the youth, it is those between the ages of 15 and 25 that may most regret no having access to military-style weapon and ammunition just a few decades in the furfure.  In fact one may want to consider purchasing additional such arms and ammunition to be stored and distributed in the future to the next generations that may desperately need them.

  In Short:  Any action that limits the access to modern, effective military-style firearms to law abiding citizens of the United States is specifically unconstitutional, philosophically un-American, and functional dangerous to the future of life and freedom for us all.   

• We started without any support or sponsorships at all and the members themselves could not afford much in the way of contributions until much later.
• We had no lawyers, accountant’s businessmen, or other professionals to help us build the organization. Most groups have a lot of pro-bono help.  Most groups have members taking care of the website, tax documents and other issues, we do not.
• We have no sponsors or significant donations and have never received any kinds of grants.
• Telling folks that they need to prepare for some bad times is not necessarily popular. Unless there has been a recent disaster or serious scare event interest and support drops.
• Although we are classified as a “public charity” by the IRS we don’t get any of the support that a group like the Red Cross or Boy Scouts will receive. In fact we get less than $100.00 per year in contributions even though we conduct our education programs for free.
• Other than memberships and a few book sales we have no solid financial support system.
• When membership increases and/or activities multiply, the same few volunteers get overloaded and we are forced to reduce operations when we should be increasing them.
• We have no actual headquarters, office or training facility from which to efficiently expand operations and house a staff. Only a major grant or contribution will address this issue.
• We have a lot of training equipment and supplies and there are some bequests that may come to Live Free in the years to come, but the equipment may need to be disposed of if they are not going to be used, and the organization must still exist for the bequests to be made in the future.

I welcome everyone's suggestions and participation as we go forward.  Please consider  attending our 50th Annual Meeting on March 24th at 1:00 PM in Cabela's Conference Center in Hammond IN. 

Thank you to all of our wonderful donors and participants who helped to make the Camp Independence 2018 Raffle a tremendous success!

Congratulations to Sun Oven Winner Sheila Hawkins

Please show your appreciation to our generous donors by shopping with them!