COMPLETE COVERAGE | FRONT LINES | AMERICA AT HOME | INTERACTIVES »

Spann's father: Pride, sorrow, anger

Johnny Spann: "... we are very proud of our son, Mike."

WINFIELD, Alabama (CNN) -- Johnny Spann, father of CIA officer Johnny Micheal "Mike" Spann who was killed in Mazar-e Sharif, talked to reporters in front of his home here Wednesday afternoon. Here is an edited transcript of what he said.

SPANN: First of all I want to say, on behalf of all of my family, my entire family, that we appreciate all of the expressions of sympathy that we have received from everyone around the country. Our son Mike was in Afghanistan on assignment with the Central Intelligence Agency. He gave his life in the line of work, in the line of duty, during a prison riot at a fortress near Mazar-e Sharif.

He had an extensive career serving our nation. First, as a Marine Corps officer, and then as a CIA officer. When he decided to leave the military service to work for the CIA, he told me he did so because he felt that he would be able to make the world a better place for us to live. We recalled him saying, "Someone has got to do the things that no one else wants to do." That is exactly what he was doing in Afghanistan.

And we're proud of his dedication and his service to our great nation. Mike was a loyal and patriotic American. And he loved his country very much. He was a cherished son, he was an amazing brother, a devoted father, and a loving husband. And our family wants the world to know that we are very proud of our son, Mike. And we consider him a hero. Thank you.

... Mike was an ordinary type of a boy. I would think he'd be much like any of us that grew up, in Winfield, or any of the other cities around the country. Mike was never the kind of person that wanted a lot of attention. He never did things to get attention. And as a result, you know, he wound up in a line of work where a lot of the things he did, he received no attention for.

A lot of things you didn't get the gratification for until something like this happens. But Mike was always a hard worker. And, of course, every father is going to say this about his own son. I realize that. But I'm very proud of Mike, more than I could ever make you understand.

... Mike grew up -- his favorite words to me was, "That is the right thing to do, daddy. This is the right thing to do." He was always like that.

Q: Mr. Spann, the loss of anyone's son [in this conflict] is regrettable and is terrible. Your son being the first to die in combat, in a post-September 11 world in which this nation was struck, does that have special deeper significance?

SPANN: I really don't know how to answer that question. I'm his father. And it couldn't hurt me any worse whether he was the first one or the 50th one, I guess. I don't know if that's what you are asking me or not. But there again, I am just going to say I am very proud of what Mike stood for and his loyalty to his country and the loyalty to the people he worked are for and the things that he did.

... Of course, we had people all over the world that stood up after this happened in New York. All the people in New York stood up and did great things, too. It just shows what Americans are like. This country is a great place to live.

Q: Mr. Spann, he has young children. You obviously will want to share a lot about him. What will you tell them when it is time, when it appropriate, about their father?

SPANN: We have already told his oldest daughter, who is 9 years old. And, of course, she knows what kind of father he was. And we told her exactly what he was doing. He was out there fighting for his country for our freedom so that we could all do the things that we want to do, so you could stand up here and ask me questions and take pictures of me.

Q: Mr. Spann, [what about the reports] that apparently these Taliban troops were not properly searched for weapons?

SPANN: I don't really feel like I know enough about that. The news says -- the news media, of what I see on TV -- says they weren't properly searched. I don't know. I wasn't there. And I'm sure that after they do their research on it, they will find out if they were or they weren't. And it is not going to change the fact that my son is dead.

Q: Mr. Spann, people in town have said that Mike wanted to do this kind of work ever since he was a young boy or was a young man. Can you talk a little bit about that? Is that the case? And why was that the case?

SPANN: Yes. Even in high school, he told all of his friends. Four of his friends came by today to see me and made those same comments, that even at 16 years old, they told me that he was the only one in their class that knew what he was wanting to do and what he was going to do when he got out of school. And after he got out of college -- he attended college at Auburn -- and when he left there, he went to the Marine Corps and stayed for eight years, and then on into the CIA.

... He always talked about intelligence work, FBI. He didn't know for sure which one, but in those fields.

... I guess it was the type of person he was. He liked probably the excitement. And maybe that was his character.

... We live in a wonderful community. And everybody has just been really good. I couldn't ask for anybody to be any more compassionate than people have been to us. And most everyone has showed a lot of sympathy and respected our privacy. And that's very important. I have never gone through anything like this before. And privacy is a very important thing for your family, especially when you have got some young children involved. And -- but this town has been real good to us.

... Mike wouldn't want me to sit down and throw the towel in. You know, he has got three young kids, two girls and a son. And we are going to have to be involved in helping get them raised and being sure that they have the kind of life that he had. And, yes, we will do whatever we have to do.

Q: Mr. Spann, you said that your son shunned the limelight. Yet would he be surprised by this tremendous outpouring from the community here in Winfield as well as all of these people here?

SPANN: No, he knew how people in Winfield were ... a small town like this, everybody here knows everybody. And everybody takes care of everybody. And he wouldn't be surprised this is the way that we have been treated. I don't think so. He wouldn't be surprised.

Q: People are calling him a hero here in town. People all over the country are calling him a hero. How would you characterize him?

SPANN: As the last statement that I read: a loving person, a dedicated person, a loyal person, a patriotic person, and a hero. He is a hero to me. If he (is) no one to nobody else, he is to me.

Q: How old are [Mike's children]?

SPANN: Nine, 4, and 6 months ... they don't live here. I don't know at this time if I want to disclose where the location that they actually live at, because they don't need any kind of publicity right now. ...

Q: As a father, was it ever difficult not being able to talk about what your son did?

SPANN: It's always difficult not to be able to brag about your son when you are real proud of him and you know he's doing things that everybody else should know about and should be proud of him, too. I guess, yes, it would difficult not to. But, for his safety, you have to learn to control those things.

And that's one of the things that was so concerning to us yesterday, because we knew that our son was in a bad situation, but we had not -- we did not -- he was not confirmed dead. But yet, when I asked everyone to please don't put this on the news, please, you don't have to say he's in the CIA, because his life was still at stake. If he hadn't already -- I understand right now that he was probably already dead before yesterday.

But, you know, had he not been dead, and everybody getting on the news media and in the papers and saying Mike Spann was a CIA operative, and if those folks over there had been able to receive those transmissions, I feel like they would have shot him if they hadn't already shot him. They would have killed him if he wasn't already dead. And so sometimes I think that people need to realize that, you know, there is a time for everything.

You can wait sometimes. And sometimes you need to speak. And sometimes you need to shut up. And I don't have to tell you that I probably feel a little angry about that, because I felt that I wasn't getting any help from some of the news media to try to get my son out if he was alive, because they were doing things and saying things on TV and on the radio and in the newspapers that was putting his life at more risk.

And I really think that the people in America ought to think about that. And when something like this happens again, they ought to consider what they do and what they say before they do it.

Q: What time did you got confirmation?

SPANN: Approximately 11 last night.

Q: And can you tell us little about his time in the CIA, how long ago did he join and anything you -- any broad outlines you could give us of the type of work he did or postings he had?

SPANN: After he joined the CIA?

Q: Right. When did he join?

SPANN: Approximately two years ago.

Q: And what -- do you have a sense of what he has done since then?

SPANN: No, not really. I know he traveled a lot, but I don't know any specific things about what he did, no.

Q: And how long had he been in Afghanistan?

SPANN: Approximately six weeks.

Q: Can you tell us about the last time he was home, any conversations you had with him? Did you get an uneasy feeling when you found out he was going over there?

SPANN: Any time I knew Mike was leaving the country -- I am a father, so I got uneasy feelings, but I guess no more than I would normally have.

Q: Do you blame anyone for his death?

SPANN: Osama bin Laden.

Q: Sir, what would you do with him when he was home? Like, what, did you guys go fishing or what? How did you spend time together?

SPANN: Well, we did a lot of things. We were like a typical American family. We might go to the golf course. Or we might play in the pool. Or we might play out in the yard and play ball with the kids, or lay on the sofa and watch TV or play cards or play dominoes. It's just a normal American family. There's nothing special about us.

Q: How much had he been back here since he went to the Marines?

SPANN: Not a lot. He spent three years in Okinawa before he came back to the States. And he was stationed in North Carolina. And a couple of times a year, he would come down and stay a week or so. And, of course, we would go up and see them quite often.

But, you know, it's normal, normal things.

Q: Mr. Spann, thank you.