OP on Hill 213

		OP on Hill 213
		My FO team and I didn't land at Chu Lai with our battery. I'm not sure where "India" Battery was at the time. Instead, we went from Starlite, back to the ship for a short while, and then we were helicopter lifted to an observation post to the west of the Chu Lai TAOR. Hill 213. From here we could see the enclave, but our job was to keep constant watch on the mountains and passes beyond the coastal plain. Hill 213 was a rock pile. The only way to get there was via helicopter. I took this picture from the landing pad for the UH-34s. The helicopters never really landed. When the wind wasn't blowing too hard, they would sometimes put a wheel down with the others suspended over the cliff. When the wind blew, our rations had to be pitched from the cargo bay. I don't remember how long we would stay up there. We rotated the duty with the other Chu Lai FO teams; it seems like it must have been about two weeks at a time. But it was home to the FO team and a fire team from some unfortunate Marine infantry platoon. The advantage was that there was never an inspection.