Since the onset of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan, 5,000 soldiers have died. They returned to American soil to be buried: youth cut short, every breath extinguished, all hopes and dreams enclosed forever in their caskets.
Americans without loved ones deployed overseas are familiar with casualty rates, even as they have become almost like background noise in news reports. They are merely statistics for those whose lives are not directly touched by the war effort.
Yet the HBO movie “Taking Chance,” starring Kevin Bacon, humanizes these casualties better than any film produced since Sept. 11, 2001. It does so in an unexpected manner. The film premiered Feb. 21 and is available on DVD. It was screened at the GI Film Festival on May 15, a serene Friday evening in Washington. A red carpet was sprawled from the tip of 16th Street to the doors of the Carnegie Institution, where the event was held to promote the movie and to honor its participants.
The film is a dramatization of how the body of 19-year-old Marine Lance Cpl. Chance Phelps returned to America from Iraq’s Anbar province after his death in April 2004. Once in America, the corpse of the fallen Marine was transported by a volunteer escort, retired Lt. Col. Michael R. Strobl to Dubois, Wyo., for burial on April 17, 2004. Viewers are given a glimpse into the meticulous detail used to cleanse the body and the warrior’s personal belongings. The corpse comes from the combat zone mutilated and muddy; it is soon rendered clean and dignified. At every interval, the warrior’s body is treated with respect, almost awe, by those who are part of the process of caring for it before burial.
“Taking Chance” also demonstrates how many Americans — including random airline workers and passengers on the plane in which the body is being carried — take a few moments to pay homage to the sacrifice this warrior made on their behalf. As Col. Strobl drives the body from the airport to Dubois, a row of cars along the mountainous, curvy stretch of road line up behind him, refusing to pull ahead of the vehicle that carries the young man’s body. Col. Strobl then interacts with the grieving family and community as they struggle to cope with their loss.
At the GI Film Festival, the film received a resounding standing ovation. For many of us in attendance, according to the chatter afterward, it was one of the most remarkable movie experiences we have ever had — moving, revealing and simply beautiful.
That Friday evening, Lance Cpl. Phelp’s mother, Gretchen Mack, was also present. She was greeted warmly by the crowd, who applauded enthusiastically when her name was announced shortly after the credits of the movie rolled. This was followed by a brief, solemn ceremony beneath the steps of the Carnegie Institution in memory of the highly decorated Marine.
Mrs. Mack was then surrounded by individuals of all walks of life, including former and current members of the armed forces, who approached her to say hello, express their gratitude, or offer condolences. I, too, greeted her, announced my name and role at The Washington Times and could see my words seemed to echo to her as though from miles away. On another occasion, the flashing lights of the cameras, the red carpet, the crowds, the press and people, might have been a moment she would have relished and then cherished for years to come.
Yet that evening, on the D.C. street, Mrs. Mack was not really among us — as though the experience was surreal. She lost her son five years ago, and was still deeply affected; she was solemn, silent, reflective. Surely on the day she had given birth to her son, July 14, 1984, she could not have imagined that this would be his fate — and hers.
“Taking Chance” is a magnificent homage to the young man from Wyoming who gave his life for his country — and to the many Americans who honor his service. The film is also a tribute to all those closest to the fallen who are left behind to ask “why?” and to ponder what could have been.
• Grace Vuoto is the editor of Base News, a project of The Washington Times for America’s military community.
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