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walked over to the trash can, lifted the lid, and threw something in, then walked toward the house. After Dan and Karen were inside, his sister went out and emptied the trash can onto the driveway, sorted through the loose trash, and retrieved the rosary beads.
    After a hurried trip across Manhattan, Lieutenant Widenhofer arrived within forty-five minutes. After he entered the house he immediately expressed his condolences to Maureen and John, and sought out Dan, who was now on the back patio with several other family members. Hearing Widenhofer’s voice, Dan said, “I don’t want to talk to Jeff, I don’t want to talk to Jeff!” Widenhofer overlooked the outburst and expressed his condolences, then gave Dan some time to continue the grieving process.
    Within minutes after Muse had delivered the worst possible news, he telephoned the Duggan home. Dan Duggan, Heather’s father, who served as the Mount Sinai police chief, took the call using the upstairs telephone away from Heather. Heather and Beth were busy in the kitchen downstairs, cleaning and getting ready to retire for yet another night of nerve-racking uncertainty. As her father came down the stairs, both Beth and Heather turned toward him. Seeing the redness of his face and the tears that streamed down his face, both knew. After Dan informed her of the news, Heather screamed and crumbled to the kitchen floor, sobbing uncontrollably.
    Shortly after the Duggans learned the news, Michael’s friends Jay Keenan, James Emmerich, and Jimmie, Owen, Sean, and Kerri O’Callaghan arrived. Beth went outside to meet them, while Heather remained in the arms of her parents on the kitchen floor, unable to talk to visitors. Beth could tell that everyone had been crying, and at that moment reality sunk in. She just sat down on the driveway and cried. As the group slowly approached, each knew that life had changed for every one of them and would never be the same.
    After nearly an hour of crying and sharing memories of the many good times they’d had with Michael, Jay Keenan, Jimmy, Owen, Kerri, Beth, Heather’s sister Brianne, and Jim Quattromani walked around to the Duggan’s patio deck. There they spent the next several hours telling more stories about Michael and the “good old days.” In the midst of their sorrow, they could still celebrate Michael’s life.
    One of them began to tell a story that Michael was not particularly fond of. Just then it began to rain and they all laughed. They believed it was Michael’s way
of getting them to stop telling the story. As soon as they stopped talking, the rain stopped. But soon the laughter subsided and the reality of Michael’s passing began to sink in. Each knew they were better for having known Michael.

Tuesday, July 5, 2005, Dover Air Force Base, Delaware
    Early the next morning, Muse and Widenhofer explained that Michael’s and Danny Dietz’s remains had been recovered, but Matt Axelson was still missing. Michael’s and Danny’s remains would be escorted by SEALs from Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan to Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, the U.S. military hospital in Landstuhl, Germany, and then brought to the United States under an Air Force honor guard escort. The plane was scheduled to land at Dover Air Force Base, Delaware, at about five o’clock that afternoon.
    Believing that Michael would know that his family was with him, the Murphys asked to meet the plane at Dover. Although families usually did not attend arrivals, Muse and Widenhofer made the necessary arrangements. John and Maureen Bogenshutz realized that neither Dan, Maureen, nor John was in any physical or mental condition to make the nearly 250-mile drive themselves and insisted on driving them to Dover. The Murphys agreed. Early in the afternoon, Dan, Maureen, and John left for Dover in the Bogenshutzs’ SUV, followed by Widenhofer and Muse. As it turned out, delays changed the plane’s arrival time to between ten and eleven o’clock. They all met