Remembrance: Mike Spann, Nov. 25th 2001

MIKE SPANN'S BALLAD

Remember Mike? He was a family man,
A Church of Christ boy from old Alabam,
When the Towers came down, and woke up Uncle Sam
His boots hit the ground
In Afghanistan.

Mike was walking through the prison at Mazar-e-sharif
When he stopped and stared in disbelief
With the Taliban killers and swine from Al-Qaeda
Stood young Johnny Walker,
An American traitor.

Mike said "You sold out the US of A
You'll answer for that one come Judgment Day
Help us find Bin Laden, Johnny, come on and tell
Or you'll be riding a rope
To the basement of Hell."

Armageddon arrived then, with shouts and grenades
When jihad broke through the barricades,
What did you do, Johnny, when Mike made his stand?
Did you cower in fear,
Or is his blood on your hands?

Mike was outnumbered half a thousand to one
He put his back to the wall, he emptied his guns
Then he was hand to hand against the Taliban
Mike didn't die pretty
But he died like a man.

How could God in His mercy let that wretched boy live
And take all the better man had to give?
Well it wouldn't be the first time in history
A great man died
So that we could be free.

A folded-up flag for a tear-stained bride
What God joined together, treason divides.
Now a star on a wall, a stone in the ground
Keep Mike's memory alive
Till that last trumpet sounds.

Well, they wrote a little song about Johnny Walker's Blues
Talked about his childhood on the TV news.
Twenty quick years, they'll set Johnny free
Probably give him a talk show
On the BBC.

How come God in His mercy let that wretched boy live
And He took all the better man had to give?
Well it wasn't the first time in history
A great man died
So we could be free.

Mike Spann died six years ago today, on Nov. 25th, 2001, the first American casualty in the invasion of Afghanistan. He left behind a wife and three children. You can support his family or a scholarship endowed in his name at his alma mater, Auburn University, here.

UPDATE: More from me in the next entry.