I wrote this on the 10th anniversary of the Bonfire tragedy and update the number of years that have passed each year and post here - please share if you are so inclined.

"The 12th Man Cried"

Seventeen years ago, on the 18th of November
A somber date all Aggies remember
Excitement was high - Aggie Bonfire was nigh
But the stack wouldn't hold in the morning air
And it fell in a heap bringing death and despair
And the 12th Man cried

Faithful Ags came running from far and near
Trying to save their comrades, through their tears
The Fightin' Aggie team displayed their might
Hurling logs aside both day and night
Despite heroic efforts, 12 souls still died
And the 12th Man cried

Miranda, Christopher, Michael and Tim
Jeremy, Lucas, Chad and Jamie Lynn
Bryan, Nathan, Chris and Jerry Don
Were taken by the very stack
They were proudly working on
And the 12th Man cried

Those injured by the stack live each and every day
With pain and the remembrance that will never go away
We pray for continued healing as the years pass by
And honor the departed with a teary eye
And the 12th Man cried

On a foggy autumn morning
If you're walking near Kyle Field
Take a closer look at the face of E. King Gill
You may see a teardrop falling
Down his bronzed and weathered face
And hear the quiet strains of a soft "Amazing Grace"
And the 12th Man cried


Mark McCauley, TAMU Class of 1981

Unpublished Work 2009 Mark McCauley