The moment after you've stepped into one of Matt Mancuso's Jeeps, there's no way to know where you'll end up.

It could be a muddy, ragged trail complete with jumps and opportunities to get high-centered, or a ride straight to McDonald's where friends and a few burgers will be waiting.

Wherever you go, you know there will be no shortage of entertainment.

Such was the consensus as a dozen or so of Matt's family and friends gathered to remember his life at a cookout hosted by his mom and dad Sunday.

Matt drowned accidentally June 3 while playing in the Chehalis River and jumping in from the Prather Road bridge with his friends. He was 20.

His death is not only a tragedy for his family, but has made prosecution of a prominent assault case more difficult.

Young Matt was a witness in the case of an alleged hate crime that occurred on Valentine's Day. He was the driver of the vehicle transporting an African-American male who was allegedly beaten in the head with a rock that night.

Lewis County Prosecutor Michael Golden said it may now be more difficult to convict suspects Daniel Ward, 19, and his 17-year-old relative on charges of second-degree assault and malicious harassment.

Growing up, Matt and his brothers, Jerry, 18, and Paul, 19, were close. Traveling around the world with a military family meant their only true constant was each other.

But that didn't stop him from drawing others to him, his father, Matt Sr., said Sunday.

"He made friends everywhere," he said. "But it wasn't that he looked for them, they came to him. He's just that type of guy."

The family traveled from California to Louisiana, Germany, Maryland and Texas among other stops as Matt Sr. lived a soldier's life. Both Jerry and Paul agreed that they all had their hard times adjusting, but young Matt still had friends he contacted from each area they spent time in.

They settled for a home in Rochester about four years ago, where Matt's friends have spent every day since his tragic and untimely passing.

Tanner Matteucci, friend and graduating senior at Rochester, remembers the time they got high-centered on a trail in Matt's Jeep - a Jeep that his dad said went from mint condition to the mud-splattered, dinged and scratched vehicle it is today in a matter of one year - behind a Dairy Queen in town.

Matt's brother Paul declined to go, but Matt was gung-ho about it, Paul said. Matt grabbed Tanner and they flew through the trail, only to get themselves and their eventual rescue party, Paul, stuck for more than four hours.

"He'd try anything to be able to say he did it," Paul said with a smile.

Matt's girlfriend Katie Pence, 17, agreed. She remembers his athletic prowess, his ability to throw her over his shoulder when they wrestled, and a number of spontaneous outings where she said she'd always be laughing.

And while he was able to make a joke of everything, she said he was serious and interested when he needed to be.

"He's one of those people that's just plain genuine," Pence said. "He could be a million miles away when you call him and he'll still wanna come see you. He's got your back."

Other friends recounted Matt's love for the impromptu wrestling match, most of which they said they lost. The humorous tendency may have come from his days on various sports teams including football and basketball, they said.

Thirty minutes after he heard the bad news on June 3, Matt's dad was on a helicopter headed for Kabul in Afghanistan, prepared to resign from the contracted security job he'd been assigned to for the past year. Thirty-two hours later, he was back home.

He and Matt's off-season basketball coach, Joe Burkhardt, said many people jump off that bridge on most summer days. The place and events leading to the incident - Matt was said to be leaping and flipping off the bridge with friends - even speaks to his character, Matt's dad said.

"He died doing what he loved to do, with the people he loved," Matt Sr. said.

Matt's mother, Lita Mancuso, spoke through tears Sunday as she relived her son's happiness.

"Matt smiles a lot," she said. "And if I'm getting mad at him, he smiles more! He just smiles at me."

Plus, he's the only man who ever rode on the back of a deer, Matt Sr. chimed in. He grinned as he held up a picture of his son doing just that - riding a deer on the side of the road.

Many of the family and friends who attended the cookout wore engraved dog tags Sunday that read "RIP Matthew Mancuso" with such quotes as "Live life, don't hold back."

The quote may or may not have been Matt's motto, but those who knew him agreed: if it was Matt's idea, there was most definitely no holding back, and there was most definitely a good time ahead.