. >> that may have just been an inartful phrase by homeland security adviser john brenen. the white house is trying to release photographic proof of his demise. he says the administration is going to make sure that at the end of the day no one has any doubt that this was quote the head of the snake. >> u.s.a., u.s.a. >> a night to remember. >> this is for my boy, sumner cowen buried at arlington. >> reporter: the roar of the crowd at the white house for the heroes of shanksville, pa, at ground zero, a celebration of the death of osama bin laden. >> carried this to iraq and afghanistan with me. >> reporter: he lost his firefighter dad in the twin towers. >> this means that it's a victory for american patriotism. >> reporter: the president's first reaction, we got it. >> our country has kept its commitment to see that justice is done, the world is safer. >> reporter: american intelligence operatives tracked a courier to find bin laden not in pakistan's remote tribal regions but in a luxurious compound north of islamabad where he had been living apparently for years. a neighb