Outside their home in West Chester, Pa., a suburb
of Philadelphia, Berg's father, brother and sister collapsed after
reporters told them about the tape. The family, which had a photograph
of Nick Berg taped to their mailbox, had been told by the State
Department on Monday that Berg's beheaded body had been found.
Friends of the family were devastated. "He was like a son
to me," said the Rev. Bruce Hauser, who lives next door to
Berg's parents. The Bergs "are just broken up, distraught.
They can't believe it, especially the way he died. It makes it
worse." Hauser said he had known Nick Berg since Berg was
a little boy.
Will
Scott, 27, a software developer in Austin who went to high school
with Berg, told CBS that his friend was "approximately the
coolest guy ever. He could build a computer out of cardboard and
tin foil, and that's not really an exaggeration."
Scott
recalled a summer science program he attended with Berg. "Nick
had an entire department of his own that he basically invented
called Bergology. It was this weird combination of computer engineering,
electronics, craftsmanship" Scott said. "He was really
good at it he had an energetic personality and a really
good attitude he would really get along with anybody."