# Taking Chance



## Yrys (16 Feb 2009)

Fallen Soldiers, Coming Home in Public

In an HBO movie that has its premiere on Saturday, Kevin Bacon, playing the part of 
Lt. Col. Michael Strobl, escorts the body of Chance Phelps, 19, a fellow Marine killed 
in Iraq, home to his parents in Wyoming. There’s no real plot; the linear narrative 
follows Colonel Strobl through his solemn rituals, often including a slow ceremonial 
salute, as he watches over Private Phelps (later Lance Corporal Phelps). The body is 
moved in a shipping container through various airports, from cargo hold to cargo hold, 
on its long last journey.

HBO promotes the movie, “Taking Chance,” based on Colonel Strobl’s true account, 
as “nonpolitical.” But it arrives in a highly political context and at an acutely political 
moment.

Just last week, President Obama was asked at a news conference if he would allow 
coverage of the flag-draped coffins arriving at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware 
“so the American people can see the full human cost of war.” Photographs of that 
particularly poignant moment — when a military transport plane first touches down 
on American soil — have been banned since 1991.

Mr. Obama surprised many when he replied that he was “in the process of reviewing 
those policies.” But he did not tip his hand. “I don’t want to give you an answer now 
before I’ve evaluated that review and understand all the implications involved,” he 
said. The implications are more far-reaching than might appear, even for a president 
who campaigned against the war and promised transparency.

The military has explained the ban by saying that it spares a soldier’s loved ones the 
hardship and expense of going to Dover to be there to greet the arrival along with 
the news media. Geoff Morrell, a Pentagon spokesman, told reporters Friday that 
families might think “if the press is going to be there, well, by golly, I should be there 
to see my son or daughter, husband, wife, mother, father come home.” Usually, families 
wait for their loved one to be escorted all the way home by someone like Colonel Strobl.

Privacy is an issue too, he said. Although the coffins are not publicly identified at Dover, 
fewer deaths in Iraq mean that the identity of each is more knowable.

But skeptics say that those stated reasons mask a harsher reality and that the policy is 
an attempt to sanitize the war and manipulate public opinion. “This is part of an overall 
strategy to control the media in terms of what we know about the war and how it’s going,” 
said Brian Gran, who teaches sociology and law at Case Western Reserve University and 
has studied the so-called “Dover Test,” an intangible measure of how many coffins 
Americans can stomach seeing.

The ban on photography has been applied inconsistently over the years, he pointed out, 
suggesting to him that “the government is less concerned about the families’ interests 
and more concerned about controlling the perceptions of war.”

Part of the debate that has developed turns on whether the return of soldiers is a private 
or public matter. While families have registered a range of opinions about allowing the 
news media at Dover, many have maintained that the return of a body is so deeply personal 
that they should be able to decide whether to keep it private.

Critics say a soldier’s joining the military is a public act, done on behalf of country, and that 
his or her return is of public interest. Banning photographs at Dover, Mr. Gran said, 
“represents an important instance of the government attempting to justify its objectives.”

But with the review prompted by Mr. Obama, the Pentagon appears to be seeking greater 
balance between private and public interests. Mr. Morrell said that Defense Secretary Robert 
Gates wanted to allow families to keep their privacy “while at the same time trying to bring 
this process more into the open, so that the American people can see what goes on and honor 
these heroes as well.”

There are also political considerations. Mr. Obama has been careful not to ruffle feathers in the 
military, moving cautiously on two big campaign promises — withdrawing combat troops from 
Iraq within 16 months and allowing gay men and lesbians to serve openly. It would be out of 
character for him suddenly to change a controversial policy like the photo ban without building 
up support for it within the military.

Moreover, no one knows what will happen in Iraq or Afghanistan, or on some other battlefield. 
At some point, Mr. Obama himself will be held accountable for the coffins coming home, and he 
may find that it is not in his interest, any more than it was in his predecessors’, for Americans to 
have these visual reminders of the death toll. It was, after all, the embarrassment of a president 
that first led to the photo ban. In 1989, the TV networks showed a split screen of President George 
H. W. Bush in jocular banter with reporters on one side while on the other, the first American 
casualties from Panama were returning to Dover. A veteran himself, Mr. Bush was deeply 
embarrassed at the juxtaposition and asked the networks to warn the White House when they 
intended to use split screens again. They declined. At the next opportunity, in February 1991, 
during the first gulf war, the Pentagon banned photos of returning coffins.

It isn’t clear how much such photos sway public opinion; more than 4,000 coffins have come back 
from Iraq, largely unphotographed, and public opinion still turned against the war. Of course with 
photos, that opinion may have turned earlier, particularly in the beginning of the war when 
Mr. Bush was up for re-election.

“If the American people believe a war is worth fighting, then pictures of returning casualties won’t 
change anything,” said Ralph Begleiter, a journalism professor at the University of Delaware who 
prompted the Pentagon to release hundreds of pictures of coffins returning from Iraq. “The problem 
comes when there are doubts about the war itself.”

In the near term, Mr. Obama could be sending as many as 30,000 more American troops to Afghanistan; 
some may well come back through Dover.


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## Yrys (16 Feb 2009)

On a related subject :

Casualties of the Afghan War

Since the beginning of the war in Afghanistan on Oct. 7, 2001, 563 American service members 
- listed here - have died in Operation Enduring Freedom, the global antiterror campaign. Of 
those deaths, according to an analysis by The New York Times, 510 have occurred in Afghanistan 
or are directly linked to the war.

Casualties of the Afghan War, listed by name, date of death, state or branch



Casualties of  War (in Iraq). Search for a person in last name, state or hometown (search results are ordered by date of death)

Analisis

6 stories


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## tomahawk6 (20 Feb 2009)

This is a moving story about a Marine officer that escorted LCpl Chance Phelps remains to his family and will air on the 21st.

The story:
http://www.mca-marines.org/gazette/Strobl.pdf

A couple of personal accounts.



> I am the corpsman who was sitting next to PFC Phelps when we got hit on April 9th 2004. I was sitting right next to Phelps in the vehicle as the enemy initiated the ambush. I am convinced that Chance died instantly but his head was in my lap and cradled in my arms just seconds after he was hit.
> 
> After the firefight, I held his hand as our convoy limped back to the FOB. I knew he was gone but I still felt the need for him to know I was still there with him. I think about him every single day without exception...
> 
> ...



From MG Kelly:



> From:   Kelly BGen John F
> Sent:   Wednesday, April 21, 2004 5:38 AM
> To:   Strobl LtCol Michael R
> Subject:   Trip Report
> ...



The trailer:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MtmiLdzzgGE


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## Rifleman62 (21 Feb 2009)

New HBO movie on TV 21 Feb 09

*Taking Chance*

In 2004, Lt. Col. Michael Strobl volunteered to escort home the body of a 19-year-old Marine killed in Iraq. It would prove to be a life-altering experience. Kevin Bacon stars as Strobl in this profoundly moving HBO Films drama that looks at the military rituals for honoring its war dead from the perspective of one fallen soldier named Chance Phelps. Strobl never knew Phelps before taking the assignment, but as he journeys across America, he discovers the great diligence and dignity in how the military handle such dark duties--and comes to grips with his own issues of guilt when he meets Chance's gracious family and friends. Directed by Ross Katz; screenplay by Lt. Col. Michael R. Strobl, USMC (ret.) and Ross Katz, based on the journal by Lt. Col. Michael R. Strobl, USMC (Ret.)
Running time 77/85 minutes. Actors: KEVIN BACON, PAIGE TURCO, SARAH THOMPSON, TOM WOPAT

One personal review from the internet: It is the only movie I have ever seen at Sundance in five years of attendance that received four standing ovations. It is a wonderful story of respect, service, sacrifice and the dignity of life. Lt Col Mike Strobl did a great job of sharing with us through his book, and now this movie. A true story of a serviceman's journey home who has been Killed In Action (KIA). It is a moving account of the respect that the Marines give their fallen. In addition is shows the outpouring of thanks and respect that Lt Col Strobl encountered as he escorted the body Lance Corporal Chance Phelps back to his family.

Everyone should see this movie. It does not have any political or ideological agenda. It is just a great story of service and sacrifice as well as respect and honour.

Picture: Lt Col (Ret) Strobl, Director Ross Katz, Kevin Bacon


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## tomahawk6 (21 Feb 2009)

If anyone is interested "Taking Chance " is now playing on HBO. The story of a Marine casualty assistance officer handling that toughest of duties.


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## Yrys (21 Feb 2009)

Coffins’ Arrival From War Becomes an Issue Again, NY Times, February 21, 2009






Military personnel escorting coffins at 
Dover Air Force Base in one of 
hundreds of photographs the Pentagon 
released in 2004.

Pentagon officials reconsidering the ban on news coverage of coffins arriving at Dover Air Force Base from Iraq 
and Afghanistan are studying the media policies of other countries. They are also soliciting the views of families 
who have lost loved ones.

Those two aspects of the review may well yield opposing perspectives. Britain and Canada, two important allies 
in the war in Afghanistan, allow far more news media access to the repatriation process — the return of a fallen 
soldier to his or her country — than does the United States. But many American families who have lost loved ones 
say they want to keep the ban, which has been in place since the Persian Gulf war in 1991.

President Obama said on Feb. 9 that he had ordered the review, which the Pentagon said it would complete in 
a few days. The new review has revived an old debate. Supporters of the ban say it protects families’ privacy and 
keeps the deaths from becoming politicized; critics say the government is trying to sanitize the wars and reduce 
public awareness of their human cost.

In the most recent national poll on the issue, conducted in 2003 by The New York Times and CBS News, 62 percent 
of respondents said the public should be allowed to see photographs of the military honor guard receiving coffins at 
Dover, in Delaware, while 27 percent opposed the idea. The poll questioned 1,042 people and had a margin of error 
of plus or minus three percentage points.

Since Mr. Obama’s announcement, Families United for Our Troops and Their Mission, which represents 60,000 
families of military personnel, including some who have died, has publicly opposed lifting the ban. The group also 
asked its members in an e-mail message whether they favored keeping or changing the ban.

Of the roughly 600 people who responded, the group said, 64 percent said the policy should not be changed; 
21 percent said that if the ban were changed, the families should be able to determine news media access on 
a case-by-case basis, and 12 percent said the policy should be changed to allow cameras.

Among the respondents, the group said, was a mother, whose name it withheld to protect her privacy, who wrote: 
“When our son arrived into Dover A.F.B., my husband had arranged to be there as they took him off of the plane ... 
we couldn’t imagine him being all alone. It was a very private and emotional moment and one that should have 
belonged only to us. We were inundated by press at our home, at the funeral and for months after, and we were 
generous with their access, but were very grateful that they weren’t allowed to be present at Dover. ... This was 
our precious son, not a political statement.”

But another mother who had lost her son said she favored lifting the ban. “I am in favor of controlled media 
coverage at Dover because I feel people need to be made aware of the sacrifice my son and so many other 
brave men and women have made for their freedom,” she wrote.

But if the views of military families suggest the repatriations should be closed, the policies of allies may suggest they 
be open. Repatriation is more of a national event in Britain and Canada.

In Canada, families decide whether the news media can cover the arrival ceremonies on the tarmac at the air base at 
Trenton, Ontario. “They can’t be under the nose of the family, but they can capture the event,” said Capt. Isabelle Riche,
the public affairs officer for the base.

In Britain, the Defense Ministry usually takes photographs of the arrival ceremonies at the air base at Lyneham and 
releases them to the news media. Reporters are sometimes admitted but are also kept at some distance from the 
families. Accepting government photographs has irritated some British journalists who want more editorial control, 
particularly if something out of the ordinary happens during the ceremony. Either way, the public sees the pictures.

In Canada and Britain, a cortege leaves the air base for a mortuary about 100 miles away, and television often shows 
the procession live. The Canadian procession travels to a morgue in Toronto along Highway 401. That stretch of 
roadway has been renamed the Highway of Heroes, and hundreds of people often come out and pay their respects 
as a convoy passes. The procession in Britain, from Lyneham to a mortuary in Oxford, first passes through Wootton 
Bassett, a small town that has become the nation’s funeral parlor. Hundreds of people line the streets there in silent 
tribute.

At Dover the repatriation process takes place out of public view. The mortuary is on the air base, so no public 
procession takes place. When they first banned representatives of the news media, military officials said that if 
cameras were allowed at Dover, most families would feel compelled to go there, often under emotional and financial 
duress. Many wait instead for a military escort to bring their loved ones home, where there is often an outpouring of 
support by local residents, and some families allow news coverage of the funeral.

In April 2006, Canadian officials briefly imposed a news blackout on the arrival ceremonies for the coffins, saying they 
wanted to protect the families’ privacy. Critics said the government was trying to protect itself from antiwar sentiment; 
they included several families who said the public ceremonies and shows of sympathy had given them some comfort.

A month later the government reversed course and allowed families to decide for themselves. The only caveat was that 
all immediate next of kin had to agree on the decision. If they did not, access was denied.


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## OldTanker (22 Feb 2009)

I just finished watching this. An excellent movie.


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## Kat Stevens (22 Feb 2009)

Agreed.... damn, there's something in my eye again.


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## PMedMoe (22 Feb 2009)

Wish I had HBO.   :'(   Hopefully it comes on another channel soon.


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## Infanteer (6 Mar 2009)

Wow - outstanding film.  The guys playing the Marines did an excellent job and the movie brought alot back for us who've seen our friends or family brought home from so far away.

Never fails to make me proud on how we as an institution care for our fallen warriors on their return home and on how the average citizen will take the time out of his or her day to do their part in seeing them home.


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## mariomike (7 Mar 2009)

I watched it, and think it was very well done. So was "Section 60". 
The US repatriated 233,181 of their war dead from WW2 alone:
http://www.memorialdayfoundation.org/info.asp?id=1975


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## Sub_Guy (7 Mar 2009)

PMedMoe said:
			
		

> Wish I had HBO.   :'(   Hopefully it comes on another channel soon.



Download the torrent, its out there.


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## TheGreyMan (7 Mar 2009)

I had the pleasure of seeing this film last week and I agree that it is a must see. It is an extremely moving experience, but more importantly it helps to put to rest the horrible lie that the military is some impersonal, unfeeling beast which consumes gullible kids and spits them out when they have served their purpose.

I can think of no other organization which cares, honours, and personalizes the loss of each and every one of its members as the military of both Canada and the US does. Watching the film and seeing how ordinary citizens responded to being a witness to the body of a young soldier returning home makes me realize that though many people may claim to believe the lie, the number that actually believe it is far lower.

My God continue to bless each and every soldier, who put the safety of foreigners and hostile countrymen above their own.


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## FormerHorseGuard (11 Mar 2009)

Great  movie, very  educational about how the Americans deal with the loss of a human in battle or by accident.
The one part where it shows the Army  Sgt waiting for his brother to be unloaded from the plane and put in the funeral coach,  he and Bacon's character both saluting made me realize how small of a world it can be when you  escort your own kin home for the final time.

Thanks to the people who work behind the scenes doing the final prep work, making the remains look better at the end then when they  got them,  It is hard work doing that day  in day  out.  I know because I did work at the now former family  business in the US when  married. I worked in final packaging, it is hard and drainign work. They  do a wonderful job at Dover Air Force Base.  Must see for any  person who has some one over there they  know.


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## SoldierInTheMaking (11 Mar 2009)

Anyone have the link to the movie?


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## tomahawk6 (11 Mar 2009)

We have had several accounts of escorts in the media and the thing that both moves me and is inspiring is the response of the american public when they become aware that the remains of a fallen warrior is on their flight or is being offloaded.

Download here.
http://www.mininova.org/tor/2322481


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## Messmom (29 May 2009)

Infanteer said:
			
		

> Wow - outstanding film.  The guys playing the Marines did an excellent job and the movie brought alot back for us who've seen our friends or family brought home from so far away.
> 
> Never fails to make me proud on how we as an institution care for our fallen warriors on their return home and on how the average citizen will take the time out of his or her day to do their part in seeing them home.



Little late to thsi thread, but it was an excellent movie. The reason the guys playing the Marines came off so real is that many of them were actually Marines.

Here is the actual story written by LCol Strobl about the trip,

http://www.asrt-mil.org/taking_pfc_phelps_home.htm


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## kincanucks (29 May 2009)

First read this story in the book Blog of War.  Can't wait to watch the movie rendition.


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## Rifleman62 (28 May 2010)

For thoes who missed it, HBO will re-air Taking Chance. May be on HBO Canada for thoes who do not have HBO.

In April 2004, Lieutenant Colonel Michael Strobl (Kevin Bacon) escorted a young fallen Marine home to his family in Dubois, Wyoming. 'Taking Chance' re-airs this Memorial Weekend, Sunday at 9PM. Find out more at HBO.com.


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## BeyondTheNow (3 Feb 2013)

I think this movie is a little less known. It was an HBO broadcast.

Anyway, the first time I saw it was before I had decided the CF was the path I wanted for myself.  It's on again this evening and it's truly touching--a very different approach to a difficult aspect of war.

Trailer:

http://www.youtube.com/#/watch?v=MtmiLdzzgGE&desktop_uri=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DMtmiLdzzgGE


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## mariomike (3 Feb 2013)

Some discussion of the film.

"Taking Chance, New HBO Movie":
http://forums.army.ca/forums/threads/84078.0/nowap.html


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## BeyondTheNow (3 Feb 2013)

I do apologize. I didn't realize it had been so widely discussed already, which was pretty vacant-headed on my part...I didn't search  :facepalm:

It's so interesting to read so many viewpoints and critiques of its content. Thank you!


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