Friends Remember Nick Berg
May 13, 2004 -- Friends of Nick Berg say the world suffered a huge loss the day the 26-year-old Philadelphia man was brutally executed in Iraq.
"He was the most amazing man I've ever met and I cannot think of what the world will be like without him," said Berg's friend Aaron Spool on ABCNEWS' Good Morning America.
Berg's friends described the young man who was killed by his captors in Iraq as generous, funny and intelligent. They said he could have done a lot to help Iraqis rebuild their country had he not been executed by a group that claims it was seeking revenge against Americans.
"It was part of something inside of him said that he wanted to be there, be a part of the process to rebuild," Luke Lorenz said. "His idea was to go there and teach other people how to build towers and how to get them running again and he wanted to be a part of the process."
Berg, who was unmarried, owned a small business that worked with communication equipment. While Berg's friends said they understood why he wanted to use his technical skills to help rebuild Iraq's telecommunications infrastructure, they said they never really wanted the young adventurer to go to Iraq.
"I think everybody wanted to see him home and safe as soon as we had heard that he was having difficulties getting home," said Joe Blechman.
The world learned of the details surrounding Berg's violent death after video was posted on an Islamic Web site, said to be affiliated with al Qaeda. It showed Berg beheaded by a group that claimed it was seeking retribution for the alleged abuse of Iraqi prisoners by Americans.
Berg's body was returned to the United States and there will be a private memorial Friday. His loved ones have already set up a memorial fund and a Web site (www.nickberg.org) in Berg's name.
Spool said it will be hard for the people who know Berg to tell the many amazing stories about him at the memorial.
"Nick, to know him was to love him. He took his God-given gifts and helped others," Spool said. "What more do you want in a man or anyone?"
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