See Commanding Officer Ed Mitchell's account of the battle of FSB Granite here.
 

 

This photo was on 35mm slides Gen. Mitchell had from his tour. "This pic was probably made around 25 Apr 70 on the Evans log pad en route to Granite AFTER the Eagle Beach stand-down". Ed Bishop back left, Alan Wendt next to him.

 

On 29 Apr 1970 three members of Alpha Company were KIA and Edward James Bishop, Jr. was MIA. More about Ed Bishop here. Thanks to Ed Mitchell and Gregory Bucknor for their help with FB Granite details.
 


Brigadier General Ed Mitchell wrote the following about the account:  (more)

As best I recall, all photos were made within 24 hours after the 29/30 Apr 70 Sapper attack conducted by elements of the 29th NVA Infantry Regiment and the 7th Sapper Battalion. My personal records reflect the following 10 "Drive On" soldiers killed during this fight:

A Company:

Robert Boggs
Dennis Hunter
Ed Bishop (declared MIA to KIA-remains not returned)
Roy Snyder
William Stieve
Fred Wortman
Robert Shannon
Carl Patton

E Company:

Linwood Walker
Larry Jones

Ours is a story that has never really been told but these photos may enlighten some. Share them as you may chose.

Warmest Regards,
Ed Mitchell, BG, USA(Ret)

NVA weapons & munitions collected after the initial sweep along A Company's perimeter after the 29 April 1970 Sapper attack on FSB Granite. The attack was lead by elements of the 7th Sapper Battalion and reinforced by elements of the 29th NVA Regiment. The NVA Assault Force Commander was reported to have been killed during the attack.



Location, FSB GRANITE
Description: The following is an edited version of an article titled "9 GIs, 47 Enemy Killed 3 Firebases Repulse Red Attacks"

Bands of Communist guerrillas hurled themselves at three northerly firebases late Wednesday and early Thursday only to be driven off each time by the outpost's American defenders, a spokesman for the U.S. Command said late Thursday. The three assaults cost the Communist 47 dead, while American losses were nine dead and 46 wounded, according to an official spokesman. Meanwhile two Americans were killed Wednesday when Red sharpshooters downed two U.S. observation helicopters in Vietnam's northern quarter - one 90 miles southeast of Da Nang and the other on the northern edge of the A Shau Valley 68 miles west-north-west of Da Nang. The costliest attack - seven GIs dead and 41 wounded - fell upon Firebase Granite, a 101st Airborne Div. outpost nestled atop a roughly-hewn hill in the dense tree-clad valleys 19 miles west-southwest of Hue, which survived its second savage bout with North Vietnamese troops in less than six weeks. On March 20, North Vietnamese sappers gnawed at the base for seven hours, killing 10 Americans and wounding 31. The second battle for Granite lasted nine hours, starting Wednesday evening and climaxing at dawn Thursday, an official spokesman said. Mortar and rocket-grenade fire kicked off the enemy assault-the spokesman said, and U.S. troops inside the base answered back with rifle, machinegun, grenade and artillery fire and a call for helicopter gunships. Eighteen NVA troops died in the clash the spokesman said. Earlier Wednesday, 101st Airborne Div. infantrymen, backed by artillery salvos, armed helicopters and U.S. Air Force F4 Phantom jet bomb strikes, fought a string of battles with Communist forces in three bunker complexes 18 miles southwest of Hue and killed 15 enemy, a military spokesman said. The series of fights left 26 Americans wounded.

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