CUMBERLAND, NC, USA
U.S. Army
SPC, F CO, 159TH AVN RGMT, TF WINGS (CJTF-76), 12TH AVN BDE
GHAZNI, AFGHANISTAN 04/06/2005
Army Specialist Michael Spivey was among 18 U.S. soldiers and contractors killed when their CH-47 Chinook helicopter crashed April 6, 2005 near Ghazni, Afghanistan. Their helicopter was flying from Kandahar to Bagram Airfield on a supply and transport mission when it crashed in bad weather. He was assigned to the 5th Battalion, 159th Aviation Regiment, 12th Aviation Brigade based at Biebelstadt, Germany. Michael was twenty-one years old.
Michael Spivey attended Winterville Elementary School and grew up at Army bases around the world but had family in the Athens and Colbert, Georgia areas. His , Cedar Shoals High School graduate Sgt. 1st Class Brian Spivey, was on active duty at Fort Bragg in Fayetteville at the time of Michael’s death. His mother, Paula Elrod Spivey, is from Madison County.
Specialist Spivey joined the Army in September 2002, hoping to become a helicopter pilot, but failed a vision test. He planned to have his vision corrected and apply for pilot’s school when he returned from Afghanistan. Attaining that was a goal he would have achieved, because he was determined and did things in an exemplary manner.
His family has a long military history, and has included at least one active-duty soldier since 1944. Michael served a six-month tour in Iraq before he volunteered for duty in Afghanistan. Though he was a helicopter mechanic, he had volunteered to serve as a flight engineer and crewman on the April 6 flight.
Spivey enjoyed sports and was a talented viola player. What he set his mind to, he accomplished. His family’s pride is not just because of his service, it’s because of Michael’s character, the kind of young man he was.
In addition to his parents, Michael is survived by a sister, Kelly Spivey of Spring Lake, N.C.; a brother, Benjamin Spivey, Fayetteville; his maternal grandfather, Herschel Elrod of Colbert; his maternal grandmother, Shirley Ballard of Greenville, S.C.; and his paternal grandparents, Bob and Audrey Spivey of Colbert.
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