A few hours after buying the gold ring she thought was nicer than his original, military officials arrived at her apartment to tell her Staff Sgt. Scott Germosen, 37, died with six fellow crew members of a plane that crashed into a mountain in Pakistan on Wednesday.
The ring now sits in a place of honor, beside the computer where Germosen surfed the Internet to download the '80s music he loved and beneath the first and only portrait of his small family.
``I don't have a finger to put it on now,'' Jennifer Germosen said, crying as she held the couple's 22-month-old daughter, Alyssa.
In Missouri, the family of Capt. Daniel McCollum mourned the loss of the 29-year-old pilot whose wife is expecting their first child on the Fourth of July. The native of Irmo, S.C., was remembered as a superb athlete and popular leader.
The mother of Gunnery Sgt. Stephen L. Bryson, of Montgomery, Ala., said her only child had called her Tuesday, his 36th birthday, to say he was thinking of her. The family has a military tradition; Bryson's uncle, Raymond Bryson, died in a plane crash while serving in the Mississippi National Guard.
Flags were lowered at the tiny high school in Wilbur, Wash., to honor 1999 graduate Nathan P. Hays, an Eagle Scout and classic car buff. The 21-year-old sergeant had been proud to return to his hometown of 1,000 people in uniform to talk with students about life in the Marine Corps.
Sgt. Jeannette L. Winters, 25, is the first U.S. servicewoman to die in combat since the 1991 Gulf War. Her family in Gary, Ind., recalled her as a committed athlete and fun-loving pianist who was determined to push herself to great accomplishments. Her father, who hadn't seen Winters in two years, took up a guitar and played a ballad he had hoped would be a duet.
Military officials said Thursday there was no indication that enemy fire had brought down the plane and the cause of the crash would take time to determine. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said efforts to recover the bodies were hampered by the difficult terrain.
In Coos Bay, Ore., Cub Scouts mourned Bryan Bertrand, the lance corporal with whom they had been exchanging letters. The former all-state football player was remembered as a hero.