Each Memorial Day we try to focus on the lives of a small number of individuals who gave their lives for our country, and whose stories we have followed for several years. In this way we put human faces and life stories honoring all those who paid the ultimate price.
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For many years, on November 25 and also Memorial Day, we have remembered Johnny Micheal Spann, a CIA Operations Officer who was the first American killed in Afghanistan after 9/11.
We have told Spann’s story many times, but it never gets old. Our 15th Anniversary post summed up much of what we...
Each Memorial Day we try to focus on the lives of a small number of individuals who gave their lives for our country, and whose stories we have followed for several years.
John Walker Lindh, a man called the “American Taliban,” left a federal prison in Indiana on Thursday after 17 years behind bars. He received a 20-year sentence after he joined the Taliban in Afghanistan after 9/11.
Lawmakers tried to persuade against Lindh’s release even though he “will have a set of heavy...
Every year we remember Johnny “Mike” Spann, the CIA special operations officer who was the first American killed in Afghanistan after 9/11.
Each year we discover new facts and stories, including the letter from Afghan warlord Abdul Rahdis Dostum and the memorial he dedicated in Spann’s memory, interviews with his oldest daughter Alison, and the family’s...
Every year on November 25 we remember Johnny Micheal (“Mike”) Spann, the first American killed in Afghanistan after the 9/11 attacks. It was on that date in 2001 that Spann was killed during a Taliban prisoner uprising at the Qala-i-Jangi fortress.
The “American Taliban” John Walker Lindh was being held and interrogated at the...
This weekend was the worst of Twitter, and the best of Twitter
The worst was the horrible response of “comedian” Dean Obeidallah to a mild comment from Bill Presson on Twitter regarding a Tweet by Obeidallah dedicating Memorial Day to the anti-Trump Resistance. That mild comment from Presson was responded to by...
Johnny “Mike” Spann was a CIA special operations officer who was the first American killed in Afghanistan after the 9/11 attack, on November 25, 2001.
I first wrote about him on May 3, 2011, after news of the death of Osama bin Laden, Remembering Johnny “Mike” Spann:
Cornell Law School graduation was held this year at the campus sports arena used for basketball games. It was the first time that I can remember that the sports complex was used for that purpose, and the faculty met in the Class of 1944 room as we awaited the processional.
If...
The first time we wrote about Johnny Micheal “Mike” Spann was in early May 2011, in the aftermath of the killing of Osama bin Laden:
Hearing the news of Osama bin Laden’s death brought forward many emotions and memories.
One of those memories for me was the story of Johnny “Mike” Spann, from Winfield,...
Each memorial day we try to focus on the lives of a small number of individuals who gave their lives for our country, and whose stories we have followed for several years.
Rachel Porto, the widow of Marine Corporal Jonathan Porto, wrote a moving post for Legal insurrection,
The first time we wrote about Johnny Micheal “Mike” Spann was in early May 2011, in the aftermath of the killing of Osama bin Laden:
Hearing the news of Osama bin Laden’s death brought forward many emotions and memories.
One of those memories for me was the story of Johnny “Mike” Spann, from Winfield,...
I’m in Israel now.
A fitting place to be on Memorial Day because the lives and freedoms of the two nations are so intertwined.
Without the sacrifices of those who fought and died to protect our freedom, there would be no freedom for our friends and allies.
We have remembered Air Force Lt. Roslyn Schulte...
On November 25, 2001, the first American was killed in the Afghan war, during a prisoner uprising in northern Afghanistan.
He was a CIA special operations officer. His name was Johnny “Mike” Spann. His story is not told often enough.
We have written of Mike Spann several times before, each one documenting a different aspect...
The other day we noted how the father of Johnny “Mike” Spann reacted with dismay to the Taliban-Bowe Bergdahl swap.
Mike Spann, a CIA officer and former Marine, was the first American killed in the Afghanistan war, during an uprising of prisoners in Northern Afghanistan. We have c...
The Taliban have released a video of Bowe Bergdahl being released to U.S. Special Forces soldiers who arrived by helicopter. Five high ranking Taliban members were released from Gitmo in exchange.
The release of the video is part of the Taliban victory lap:
(full propaganda video here)
Statements from Bergdahl’s fellow soldiers about the...
The first American killed in the Afghan war, during a prisoner uprising in northern Afghanistan. On November 25, 2001.
We have written of Mike Spann several times before, Remembering Johnny “Mike” Spann:
The story of this small band of men has been told, but not told enough.
Spann was killed during the Battle of Qala-i-Jangi when Taliban...
