Baseball consumed Jamie Murphy's summers in Petawawa, Ont., where he lived with his common-law wife Candace, and was a member of the Royal Canadian Regiment.

A talented fielder who played for the Stags, a prestigious local team, Murphy was driving to Ottawa for a tournament one summer with a friend when his car caught fire. Instead of calling it quits, they simply grabbed their gear and hitchhiked the rest of the way.

"That's how he was about everything," says Candace. "No matter what was put in front of him, he always found the good in it."

Murphy grew up in the small fishing village of Conception Bay, N.L. He applied to a local trade school and the army after finishing high school. When the army called back first, he signed up with the infantry.

He was at work in Petawawa the morning of 9/11, when news of the attacks turned the army base into a hive of adrenalin.

"I remember getting a phone call from him, saying they were on standby to possibly go down to New York City that day," Candace says.

His unit never went to New York, but was posted to Kabul in 2003. He and Candace had bought a new house before he left. She was waiting for his return before moving in.

"I still miss him," she says, "and for each soldier that goes over there, my heart goes out to every one."