We return from commercials to the Colonel knocking on the door to Ruthie's room. Eric and Annie are such wimps. He tells her he has bad news about Sgt. Morgan. There's something wrong with the Colonel's nose. It's turned grayish-yellow. I think he's become so rigid that he might be turning into stone. The Colonel doesn't mince words -- he tells her Morgan was killed in the helicopter crash. It sounds like he's being callous, but I really don't see any way of easing into this, given that Ruthie already knows about the accident. Staff Sgt. Walter F. Cohee III was killed as well, but Brenda Hampton didn't pick his name out of a hat, so we'll never hear anything more about him. Ruthie goes from denial to acceptance in about three seconds and two facial expressions. She doesn't look particularly aggrieved, just disappointed. The helicopter was on a resupplying mission, and it went down shortly after take-off. He gives no indication of enemy activity, so it must have been an accident. Not that the deaths of two men is any less tragic an event. I'm just pointing that out. The other men in the helicopter were successfully evacuated. When the Colonel found out about Morgan's death, he wanted to come out to Glenoak to tell Ruthie himself. Ruthie gets upset on behalf of Sgt. Morgan's family and asks who's going to tell them about it, whining that little Alex probably has never even heard of Afghanistan. Colonel responds, "But I'm pretty sure he has heard of the United States of America. That's the country his father died for." Thanks for the newsflash, Gramps. God, what awful dialogue. He goes on about how Morgan sacrificed himself for freedom and liberty for all of us, and how he died with honor.

Downstairs, Annie and Eric are waiting for the Colonel to finish doing the dirty work, so that they can sweep in later and try to make everything better. Actually, Eric claims that the Colonel insisted on flying out and breaking the news to Ruthie. Apparently, he used to be a "casualty assistance officer," which makes it sound like his job was to try to cause casualties. Annie wonders if they should have been there when the Colonel broke the news. Eric tries to justify their wimpishness by saying that he thinks the Colonel didn't want them there. Whatever lets you think you're not a lousy father, RevCam. Just then, Ruthie comes downstairs. She asks RevCam if he'll hold a memorial service for Sgt. Morgan. Actually, it turns out that he's Staff Sgt. Morgan now. He was in line for a promotion, and they're going to give it to him posthumously. The parents hug her, happy that they don't have to explain death to her. Ruthie says she's going to go tell the other Camdens about Morgan's death, and RevCam promises to hold a memorial for him the next evening. After Ruthie's gone, Annie and Eric tell each other that the Colonel handled it wonderfully. Certainly much better than either of them probably would have. They're only good at the part of parenting that involves stalking and judging. They hug.