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telephoned Heather and her family. She then called her sister Eileen Hillicke in Wilmington, North Carolina. Eileen, who was Michael’s godmother, booked the first available flight for later that morning. Maureen also called her neighbors and close personal friends Tony and April
Viggiano and neighbors Joe and Benilde DeCabo, who arrived within minutes, as well as her cousins John and Linda McElhone. Linda was Maureen’s closest friend and confidante.
    She also called her nieces Cathy, who was in college in Ohio, Colleen, who was at her home in New Hampshire, and Kelly, who lived in nearby Huntington on Long Island. The Murphys were particularly close to the girls as they had raised them after their father Billy Jones, Maureen’s younger brother, died of cancer. Cathy and Colleen left immediately for Long Island, while Kelly arrived within the hour.
    The three Navy officers and the family members remained with the Murphys for the next three hours, leaving them just after 3:30 AM. During that time Father Coyle led everyone in prayer on multiple occasions. Although not everyone in the room was Catholic, all were Christians, and prayed for His will to be done; they believed that His will included Michael’s safe return to those who loved him. Muse gave the family his hotel address, room number, and the room’s telephone as well as his personal cell numbers, and all three officers promised to return later that morning. Dan too left for home, but there was very little sleep for any member of the Murphy family on that night.
    By the time everyone retired to their homes and hotels, Michael’s status was still unknown, but one thing was clear: both the Murphy and Duggan families were blessed with an extensive support network—military and civilian—a support system that became both necessary and sustaining in the days that followed the initial news. After strong encouragement from those arriving, Maureen finally agreed to surrender her attempts to meet the emotional needs of those gathered around her and allow them to begin to meet her needs and those of Dan and John as well.

CHAPTER TWO
    Vigil for the Valiant
    They’re falling—either literally or figuratively—and you have to catch them. In this business I can’t save his life. All I can do is catch the family while they’re falling.
    —MAJOR STEVE BECK, Casualty Assistance Calls Officer (CACO), United States Marine Corps, quoted in Jim Sheeler, Final Salute

Thursday-Friday, June 30-July 1, 2005
    H aving only a few hours of sleep, Maureen called the O’Callaghans at around 8:00 AM. Jimmie and Owen O’Callaghan, who also lived in Patchogue, were lifeguards with Michael and were his best friends. She remembered that Michael had told her to call Owen and Jimmie if anything ever happened to him, that they would “take care of everything.” They arrived within twenty minutes.
    As promised, arriving at about 9:00 AM in their dress uniforms were Lieutenant Commander Muse and Lieutenant Widenhofer, who remained for the rest of the day. Muse made frequent telephone contact with NAVSPECWARCOM, although most of the calls were very short. With Muse tied up with NAVSPECWARCOM, Widenhofer answered questions in between television news and updates from the Murphys’ many extended family members and friends. Desperate for information, any information, the Murphys relied on the public news media despite their tendency for reporting unverified information as truth. The Navy, on the other hand, would only provide information that was properly verified.
    The Murphys followed the Navy’s advice and directed all media inquiries to the Navy’s Office of Public Information. Always attentive to the needs of others, Maureen insisted that both Muse and Widenhofer return tomorrow in comfortable street clothes; both agreed. After a midmorning telephone call to NAVSPECWARCOM, Muse related that at least two helicopters carrying Navy SEALs responded to Michael’s call for help. One