05:45 PM EST on Thursday, February 9, 2006

Reported by: Mike Gooding

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Last June, six locally-based Navy SEALs died in Afghanistan when their Chinook helicopter was shot down in the Afghan mountains.

Laura McGreevy’s husband, Lt. Mike McGreevy, Jr., was one of them.

"We knew. I always knew in the back of my head it was a possibility, but honestly, he was good at his job and he convinced me that he was always going to be ok that I honestly never worried about him."

Today, she’s pressing ahead in the face over still overwhelming grief.

AP

Wreckage of crashed US military CH-47D Chinook helicopter, near Ghazni city, Afghanistan

"He was my best friend and the best person I ever knew and I have absolutely no regrets being married to a Navy SEAL, absolutely none."

McGreevy and other SEAL widows are coming together this weekend to share a bond that only their small circle could comprehend.

Laura and 20-month-old daughter Molly will join other Navy SEAL widows for a fundraiser at Keagan's Irish Pub at Town Center in Virginia Beach. It's Friday from 5:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.

The United Warrior Survivor Foundation is sponsoring this first-ever East Coast gathering. The organization provides financial assistance, financial guidance and planning support along with college scholarship grants, educational counseling, professional bereavement counseling, and peer-to-peer mentorship to the spouses.

Former SEAL Nick Rocha of San Diego is the group's president and CEO.

"There's a kindred brotherhood and a code that we have in battle. If something happens to me, make sure my family is taken care of. Well, I take that very seriously and I want to make sure we honor that promise because battlefield promises are real," he said.

There’s pain, too.

"There's anger. There's sadness. There's loneliness. Then you're happy. Then you feel guilty for being happy. But you know that your husband wants you to be happy. So there's just this whole wave of emotions you go through every day," McGreevy added.

In all, 16 American commandoes died in that crash. Ten were SEALS, six were from Naval Amphibious Base Little Creek.  It's said to be the largest single loss for the base since World War II.