[RightthinkinAmerican]

In Iraq, no job there, arrested by US. I smell a sympathizer.

[RightthinkinAmerican]

Not an accusation, I apologize. Something just doesn't smell right.

[kcvl]

Gathered in their split-level house, Berg's family talked of him as a science whiz, a sweet, unselfish kid who carried a Jewish prayer shawl, though they don't believe his religion played a role in his death.

He'd be embarrassed by "us saying all this sweet stuff," his sister, Sara, 31, said. "He had this tough-guy attitude."

Neither his family nor his friends wanted Berg to go to Iraq. They were frightened for him.

But Berg's mind was made up, "and he's pretty adamant when he wants to do something," said Doug Strickland, a childhood friend. Berg had planned to be home in time to be a groomsman in Strickland's April wedding.

Michael Berg said his son "was excited being" in Iraq. "He thought he was finally going to become part of this rebuilding process," he said.

Michael said his son e-mailed several times a day. In his first e-mail home, Berg "apologized profusely for everything he put us through. That's what he was thinking of, all that he put us through."