02/27/79-04/04/04
SSG Michael William Mitchell was killed in combat in Sadr City (suburb of Baghdad) on April 4, 2004 during the first day of Shiite riots that were instigated by Muqtada al-Sadr. Mike had been in Iraq for 11 months and has proudly served our country for 7 years as part of the 1st Armored Division which was sent into Iraq after the war ended. On Sunday, April 4th with just 7 days left in his 1 year tour of duty, he volunteered to go out on a mission with his unit to rescue a platoon of soldiers who had been ambushed. He was shot that day and died instantly. Mike’s family was anxiously awaiting his return from Iraq; his marriage to Bianca Liebl, a German national, in August, 2004; and their visit to California over the Christmas Holidays. In fact, our Hero re-enlisted in the Army just 3 weeks prior to his death. Our world has been forever changed. We are deeply saddened and we wish to try and make this world a better place with the generous contributions of those who loved Mike and others who have been moved by our story. Mike was born in Huntington Beach in Orange County, California on February 27, 1979. He moved to Porterville when he was 3 years old and was a 1997 graduate of Monache High School. While he was growing up, he would spend time each summer and holidays visiting his family who lives in Atascadero. He enjoyed the summer after his graduation and entered the United States Army in the fall of the 1997. He was a very dedicated athlete and during high school, he was on the track and field team, the cross-country team, and the wrestling team. In addition, he was an avid bodybuilder, snowboarder, and he practiced martial arts. His body was his temple… a finely tuned machine… He ate healthy, ran daily (he even went for a run on the morning of his death), did not drink, smoke, or do drugs. He loved to read. Mike was a serious fisherman and enjoyed camping, hiking, and backpacking. Mike had a heart the size of a basketball and he so much loved to spend time with his family and friends. I gotta say… Mike was one of those 90’s sensitive kind of guys. But for the last six years, he liked to spend time with his fiancée, Bianca, and couldn’t wait to return to Germany to be with her. We have welcomed Bianca into our family and we love her so much. The pain that has entered into our lives is immeasurable. Our world has been literally turned upside down by this tragic event. Even as the weeks roll by, we are still just trying to get by one day at a time.
A memorial fund has been established in Mike’s honor so that he will still have a positive influence on this world. Some ideas that have manifested themselves in which we feel Mike would be proud include a contribution to the Charles Paddock Zoo in Atascadero, the Monache High School wrestling program, a memorial at Mitchell Park in San Luis Obispo, and care packages for those soldiers who do not receive boxes from home.
All donations whether large or small may be made in Mike’s memory to the ongoing Mike Mitchell Memorial Fund at:
Santa Lucia Bank
7480 El Camino Real
Atascadero, CA 93422
For further information, please contact Bill Mitchell at (805)466-3076 or by email at joker4penguin@excite.com
Dark clouds in the sky… all around me
My heart feels heavy… no wedding to be
Six years ago today… they gave it a chance
Special love developed… but no wedding dance?
Bianca, a German student… Mike, an American soldier
Much sadness today… as he will not hold her
Bianca studies in America… while Mike goes to Iraq
Volunteers for the mission… first day the Shiites attack
He promised he wouldn’t… only seven days to go
If he only knew then… what today we all know
Noble and proud… no fear… had to go
Twenty soldiers ambushed… was he a hero?
Sensitive… strong… positive… was quite the young man
Handsome… virile… loving… living in a foreign land
Intelligent and strong… now back in her homeland
Pretty, proud and secure… awaiting her man’s hand
We all had made plans… for their special life
To be married today…the proud husband and wife
The Shiites were angry… soldiers invaded their land
Liberated they were… guns in their hand
Mike wanted to help… felt sorry for them
Sadr City is a slum… ‘twas no Bethlehem
Why did he go then… we would all ask?
Volunteering that day… for that terrible task
Oh 4 - Oh 4 - Oh 4… that ominous day
Did anyone know then… it would turn out that way?
Maria looked in the cards… no wedding she said
No one knew then… he’d been shot in the head
Killed in Iraq… giving others their life
He was soon under… the autopsy knife
Sadness abound… no wedding to be
Bride-to-be crushed… life without he?
All lives are changed… plans not as they were
Two lives together… now it’s just her
A love so special… so deep and immense
Love is still there… but nothing makes sense
Life without Mike… no one conceived
Life without Mike… still don’t believe
Not in this lifetime… now they’re apart
But special love lives… it exists in the heart
Bill Mitchell
Written while riding on a train to Munich
August 28, 2004
Mike Mitchell and Bianca Liebl’s wedding day
