Taking Chance
February 22, 2009
Tonight Marlene and I watched Taking Chance, a brand-new HBO movie starring Kevin Bacon. Based on real-life events, “Taking Chance” tells how Lt. Col. Michael Strobl (Bacon), a volunteer military escort officer, accompanies the body of 19-year-old Marine Chance Phelps back to his hometown of Dubois, Wyoming. Chance Phelps died when his patrol was ambushed south of Baghdad on Good Friday in 2004.
Heartbreaking and inspiring at the same time, the movie shows a part of the story we haven’t seen before. We get to see how the military honors its fallen heroes every step of the way as they make the long journey home. And we see the pride and sorrow of a town that receives one of its own, home at last. The scene where Lt. Col. Strobl presents the personal effects of Chance Phelps to his family will stay with me for a long time.
On our way back from New Jersey in October, we noticed a group soldiers in uniform standing in the waiting area in the Philadelphia airport. Some were Army Rangers, some were members of the 101st Airborne. When we boarded, the soldiers scattered throughout the airplane. Upon landing in Atlanta, the flight attendant asked us to remain in our seats because the soldiers were there to escort a comrade who had died in Afghanistan. A deep silence fell on the passengers as the soldiers exited the plane. Tears filled many eyes. After we got into the terminal, I looked through the plate glass window and saw the soldiers walking toward a truck labeled, “All Gave Some. Some Gave All."
Heartbreaking and inspiring at the same time, the movie shows a part of the story we haven’t seen before. We get to see how the military honors its fallen heroes every step of the way as they make the long journey home. And we see the pride and sorrow of a town that receives one of its own, home at last. The scene where Lt. Col. Strobl presents the personal effects of Chance Phelps to his family will stay with me for a long time.
On our way back from New Jersey in October, we noticed a group soldiers in uniform standing in the waiting area in the Philadelphia airport. Some were Army Rangers, some were members of the 101st Airborne. When we boarded, the soldiers scattered throughout the airplane. Upon landing in Atlanta, the flight attendant asked us to remain in our seats because the soldiers were there to escort a comrade who had died in Afghanistan. A deep silence fell on the passengers as the soldiers exited the plane. Tears filled many eyes. After we got into the terminal, I looked through the plate glass window and saw the soldiers walking toward a truck labeled, “All Gave Some. Some Gave All."
I meant to write about it then but it seemed overwhelming. Tonight when I watched “Taking Chance,” the memory came back to me. The movie is almost perfect, a little gem, only 77 minutes long, and a poignant reminder of the true cost of war.