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 (This pic of Ed was provided by his sister Alicia) |
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| Name: |
BISHOP EDWARD JAMES JR. |
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| Rank/Branch: | Staff Sergeant/US Army. Pay grade at loss E3. Promoted while MIA. | |
| Unit: | Company
A, 2nd Battalion, 501st Infantry, 101st Airborne Division |
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| Date of Birth: | 27 January 1949 | |
| Home of Record: | Hartford, CT | |
| Date of Loss: | 29 April 1970 | |
| Country of Loss: | South Vietnam | |
| Loss Coordinates: |
162622N
1071704E (YD439188) Click here to view map |
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| Status in 1973: | Missing in Action | |
| Category: | 2 | |
| Aircraft/Vehicle/Ground: | Ground | |
| Other Personnel In Incident: | (none missing) | |
| Wall Location | Panel 11W - Line 66 | |
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Edward James Bishop, Jr from Hartford, CT. His tour began on Apr 29, 1970. Casualty was on Aug 29, 1968 in THUA THIEN, SOUTH VIETNAM (FIREBASE GRANITE), Hostile, died while missing, GROUND CASUALTY. He was declared KIA on 08-29-78. His body was never recovered. |
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 Report1 from Coffelt Database |
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 Report2 from Coffelt Database |
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| MEDALS AND AWARDS Purple Heart Medal Silver Star National Defense Service Medal Vietnam Service Medal Vietnam Campaign Medal Combat Infantryman Badge UNIT CITATIONS RVN Gallantry Cross with Palm Unit Citation RVN Civil Action Honor Medal, First Class |
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PHOTOS |
 Ed was a brave soldier who stayed at his post even after being ordered to abandon his position. |
 2016 SGA Presentation xxxx |
 SGA Award |
 Ed Mitchell, Alicia Dellaripa, Ken Counts, Barth Cunico |
 SGA Award presented to Alicia by Ed Mitchell. (Ken Counts on left, Mary Neligon Beaulieu on right) |
 YouTube video here |
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| BIRTH 27 Jan 1949 DEATH 29 Apr 1970 (aged 21) MEMORIAL SITE* - Honolulu Memorial, Honolulu, Honolulu County, Hawaii, USA * A structure erected in honor of someone whose remains lie elsewhere. PLOT Courts of the Missing Court B - MEMORIAL ID 155584347 |
| OBITUARY I was unable to find an obituary. |
NOTES FROM FAMILY AND FRIENDS
| SYNOPSIS: On 29 April 1970, then PFC Edward J.
Bishop, Jr. was a rifleman assigned to Company A, 2nd Battalion, 501st
Infantry, 101st Airborne Division. His company was part of the security
detachment protecting Fire Support Base Granite, which was located on a
high plateau in the rugged jungle covered mountains approximately 9
miles northeast of the A Shau Valley, 16 miles west of Hue City and 34
miles southeast of Khe Sanh. The fire support base was also located 14
miles northeast of the South Vietnamese/Lao border, Thua Thien Province,
South Vietnam. At approximately 2200 hours, PFC Bishop was manning an artillery firing position with other soldiers at Fire Support Base Granite, when the firebase came under hostile mortar and ground attack by North Vietnamese Army (NVA) troops throwing satchel charges and firing rocket propelled grenades (RPG) at American positions. During the NVA assault, the artillery firing position was severely hit by both types of ordnance. The platoon leader, who had also been in the artillery firing position with PFC Bishop and others, last saw him firing at an enemy soldier to his front. As the platoon leader crawled away from the artillery position in the darkness, he looked back in time to see a large explosion and what appeared to be bodies flying through the air. The battle for control of Fire Support Base Granite raged throughout the night. The next morning, the survivors initiated searches to locate the wounded, recover the dead and determine if anyone was missing. As the artillery firing position was examined, only parts of another soldier who was also known to be in the firing position at the time the platoon leader vacated it were recovered. After a complete search of the fire support base was completed, only one soldier, Edward Bishop, was not found either alive or dead. Because it was entirely possible PFC Bishop left that firing position before the explosion, Edward Bishop was listed Missing In Action at the time the formal search effort was terminated. If Edward Bishop died in the fierce fight for control of Fire Support Base Granite, he has a right to have his remains returned to his family, friends and country if at all possible. However, if he survived the attack, there is every reality he could have been captured and removed from the battle site by the NVA involved in the attack. If so, his fate like that of other Americans who remain unaccounted for in Southeast Asia, could be quite different. Since the end of the Vietnam War well over 21,000 reports of American prisoners, missing and otherwise unaccounted for have been received by our government. Many of these reports document LIVE American Prisoners of War remaining captive throughout Southeast Asia TODAY. American servicemen in Vietnam were called upon to operate in many dangerous circumstances both on and off duty, and they were prepared to be wounded, killed or captured. It probably never occurred to them that they could be abandoned by the country they so proudly served. |
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On 4-28-2021 Ed Mitchell posted on Facebook: 29-30 Apr 1970…WE REMEMBER…A COMPANY, 2-501ST INFANTRY IN MEMORIAM: We mourn the loss of these nine brave warriors who gave their lives at FSB GRANITE. As “brothers”, we fought for one another and each man listed below gave the rest of us the gift of just one more day. Lest anyone of us forget, eight of those lost were returned home to their families and loved ones and to a final resting place. One remains unaccounted for (Ed Bishop) and we will not rest until he returns and his story has been completed. |
| Track Alpha Company members lost under the command of Captain Ed
Mitchell as the Commanding Officer of Alpha Company
here. |
See more about FSB Granite here. |
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Webmaster - Barth "Shortround" Cunico |
