In the center of this shot you can see the command bunker with the large radio antenna.  Ray Triana is standing just in front of it.

This is another shot from the top of Hill 452 into the valley below.  In this shot, the sheer drop-off from the top to the ridgeline below is much more evident.  This shot was actually taken from the edge of the hill next to the command bunker and it was at this point where the two Marines were later blown over the hill when lightning struck the ammo bunker and set off a bunch of Claymore mines.

Another shot of the lean-to that Holmbeck, Roddy and I shared on 452 (Roddy Rodriguez can bee seen inside).  You can also see the start of the drop-off on the side where I slept.  It dropped about three feet to a narrow ledge about 18 inches wide, then dropped off some 300 feet to the next ridgeline below.  It's a good thing I didn't have a habit or rolling around in my sleep!

Here's another shot of the valley from the other side of the hill.  What made it difficult to conduct the OP mission was that there were several villages in the valley and the VC and NVA moved freely from one to the other.  We had to be careful to wait for them to get out of range of a particular hamlet before we could direct air or artillery fire on them.  The sniper rifle was another story, though.  Since it was a precision fire weapon, we could engage an enemy anywhere within range with it.  As you can imagine from looking at this picture, these were extremely long-range kill shots.

This is Earl Holmbeck setting up another shelter half on the opposite side of the hill.  He had finally had enough of Roddy's snoring and decided to set up a hootch in another location.

Another shot of the command bunker.  Mike Bell is in the foreground, looking for a suitable C-Ration lunch.  I am at the far end with my back to the camera looking down into the valley.