I remember when I first posted on AR15.com and I asked if anyone had ever seen the photograph of the so-called 'Tillamook Guerillas.'

The time was Feb-March of 1942, and the entire West Coast of America was under all sorts of false alerts and rumors of impending Japanese Invasions of the Mainland.

Well the authorities in Tillamook, Oregon, asked that all men between the ages of 16 and 45, or thereabouts, assemble with their personal weapons at an abandoned saw mill near the coast.

The purpose of the meeting was to organize patrols of armed citizens along the shorelines and the forests near the shorelines to guard against Japanese incursions.

Well, anyway, there was a cameraman present when all the menfolk arrived with their arms, and at a set signal, the men raised their arms in a defiant gesture!

You know, something for the morale of the home front, and a warning to whomsoever might be watching that, Hey! We're watching this coastline.

The crowd was made up of approximately 1,000 or so men ranging from around age 10 to 110! Old whiskered grandfathers posing for the photo standing with their grandsons, holding their various weapons aloft!

I have always thought that the picture would make a great photo for the NRA - the true meaning of the word 'militia.'

But I have not seen that photo in years and I am beginning to think that Life, or whatever company might have the copyright on the photo, realizes just how powerful that photo is!

I have looked everywhere for it and can't find it. I even had the NRA try and look for the photo. To no avail.

Well, ladies and gentlemen, I propose that we have another such photo taken at the BRC, with wives, children, old geezers (such as myself), and others holding our 'black rifles' aloft while everyone says 'cheese.'

And have a professional photographer take the photo on the very best large format medium that can be arranged!

I am certain that this can be arranged!

Hell we have a lot of photographers here on the Board to tell us what we need and how it can be done!

Also, there are aerial photographers that can overfly the BRC and take photographs for a reasonable fee.

We had my cabin photographed from the air once and it cost us all of $300.00!

Let's look into this, what do y'all think?

We should call it 'The Tillamook Moment' in honor of some real militiamen in Oregon in WWII!

I've already posted a copy of theis on the BRC Forum, but I wanted as many as possible to see this!

Eric The(C'mon,Let'sDiscussThisMatter)Hun[>]:)]

Do I have to hold my 41 pound rifle over my head?  [:D]  

Sounds like a extremely cool idea.  Btw, I'd love to see a copy of that original photo too.

Sounds like a great idea! I think there will have to be some serious planning for an air shot though. Maybe a cherry picker or tower of some sorts would suffice!

Overhead group photographs are a great way to build esprit-de-corps.  We did them every year at our Harley-Davidson party in Austin till the group got too large (think 20,000 HD folks and that's like herding cats).

And they're cheap.  $300 isn't out of the question.  

We laid-out a pattern on the ground for folks to stand.  Being Texas we of course used a Lone Star.  Anyway it takes maybe fifteen minutes to assemble and take.

Maybe do the outline of ummm, say maybe, an AR15?

I say it's extremely do-able, and if we fail to get it done....

Well, we have plenty of time to make arrangements.

Where's the nearest airfield to the BRC site?

You call them and ask if anyone they know does aerial photography, get names and numbers, and call around.

Saturday, June 1, would probably be the best date with the most attendees. Have the aerial photgrapher do several from above, another photographer taking some from an elevated position on the ground.

[b]Hell, we could make the front cover of Small Arms Review if we do this right![/b]

...or the 'ATF Bulletin' if we do it wrong....

Eric The(TakingChances)Hun[>]:)]

Bing bing bing, we have a winner.  I volunteer for the tip of the flash supressor.  [:D]  Then again, hope they don't cut the picture short or only focus on the center section.

Cost to rent a Cessna 172 is only $60-$75 an hour wet. All it would take would be for someone with a pilots license to find a local place to rent one and then go up for a quick flight to get checked out. That would be much cheaper than hiring it done.


Aviator  [img]www.milpubs.com/aviator.gif[/img]

We always used a helicopter.  The photographer made the arrangements.  The helo gave us a lot more flexibility.  We were close to Austin Meuller airport tho'.  Also, we always took the photo Sunday morning around 10:00am.  Light was real good and just enough shadow.

Living not far from the site, I can say the Quincy regional airport is about 35-40 miles as the crow flies. Not sure if Pittsfield or Louisiana has an airport, probably not. If all else fails, we can strap a photographer to Anti's ass. Tie a rope to his shoe, & send them aloft. He's full of enough gas to get plenty of altitude![:D]

Asbestos suit on, Tim!!!!!

Damn, no wonder your post count is so high! [:)]

Post from Ponyboy -


Damn, I didn't see that coming at all, at all![:D]

Well, I will admit that back in those days, AR15.com was a pretty lonely place to be. There wasn't a lot of competition for bandwidth back then.

Eric The(Ancient)Hun[>]:)]

I would truly rather attempt to assemble unarmed cats than attempt to herd this armed gathering for a pic.

(Although one pass by a "Warthog" with the gun firing over our heads might just do it.)

I think the expression is 'herding cats.'

We just have to have discipline, that's all![:D]

Eric The(Rigid)Hun[>]:)]

Bowling Green, MO has an airport.  It's about 30 miles away by plane.  

Y'all could just ask the ATF for a copy of the pics they take.

[whacko]

I like the idea...I think a cherry picker or something like that would work great.

medcop