His name was Matthew Bergman, but his friends called him "Berg." The Navy has identified the 21-year-old Cryptologic Technician (Interpretive) Second Class as the Sailor who went missing from the USS Boxer on July 26. The Navy reported today that the extensive search had been called off for Matthew on July 29.
Matthew grew up in Nashville, Tennessee and graduated from Franklin High School. He was was part of a close-knit group of family and friends. One of his closest friends was Eli Farmer. Eli told me "Berg" was one of the funniest people he ever met:
Another of friend of Matthew, Julianne Blouin, told me she could never remember seeing the young man without a smile on his face. He was friends with Julianne's younger brother, and she always looked forward to the times Matt was at her house:
The Bergman family will hold a memorial service for Matthew on Saturday, August 6 in Nashville.
