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outlaw3179
05-02-07, 05:55 PM
This is an older story , but still a good read. I know its been on here before but I included a video that goes along with it. If you haven't read it before I included the original story as well....

outlaw3179
05-02-07, 06:01 PM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AwCO9WSXEvI

dt9615
05-23-07, 02:56 PM
Sir,
Your pooignant recolletion of your journey with young Chance Phelps choked me up as I read it. It was both an honor and a privilege to share this journey with you.

David Trousdale
LCPL, USMC (19889-1997) :tank:

When I get to Heaven, St. Peter I will tell "One more Marine reporting, Sir. I've served my time in Hell."

outlaw3179
02-06-09, 06:18 PM
The movie will be on HBO sometime this month, just in case you hadn't read it.

atoz451
02-26-09, 12:49 PM
Saw the movie the other night.

cookingmama
02-26-09, 07:31 PM
I just saw this movie last night. very emotional.

stevemorales816
02-26-09, 10:35 PM
Very good movie!!! Very sad.

Captain Kirk
04-08-09, 09:52 PM
I burried My best friend Dave. He was killed about this time 41 years ago. I was about to be retired from wounds sustained a year earlier when his parents called me and told me he had been killed. I was both the most dificult duty and the greatest Honor to serve as Daves last duty officer, returning him to his family and friends in our home town.

This movie touched me especially deeply remembering David Allen Johnson from Pickerington Ohio. My best friend. Semper Fi Dave.

bigdog43701
05-18-09, 06:07 PM
the HBO movie, "Taking Chance" has been released and available at WalMart

avenger08
05-18-09, 07:03 PM
just watched the movie for the first time, it was awsome. very motivating.

usmcthetop
05-21-09, 03:39 AM
I knew LtCol Strobl on active duty, he was a damn good Marine Officer. I saw the movie here on Okinawa a month or so ago and it made my eyes sweat like crazy

charm1110
05-25-09, 12:21 PM
I just watched the movie this a.m. for Memorial Day. It was my first time seeing it and I think I will make it a Memorial day tradition. I just told a friend of mine yesterday that one of the things that makes Marines stand above others is our deep and profound sense of loyalty to each other and this movie just kinda proved that.

Semper Fi...:flag:

Sheila Hays
05-25-09, 03:38 PM
I watched that movie also, "Taking Chance". I feel Kevin Bacon playing the part of a Marine was excellant. I also watched how he saluted, if he had done it correctly. All of the care that went into preparing the Marine for his trip home. I ended up crying, everyone was so careful with the body and the uniform. That's one tape I have to purchase. God Bless all our troops. Semper Fi Sheila Hays

Lisa 23
05-25-09, 07:44 PM
I've seen the movie countless times already and I still cry each time I see it. It's a very touching movie.
It's on again tonight, 5-25-09, at 9pm eastern standard time, in case anyone wants to see it again or hasn't seen it yet.

thedrifter
05-27-09, 08:13 AM
From the Los Angeles Times
Q & A
On second thought, Kevin Bacon took a chance
At first the actor wanted nothing to do with a film about the war in Iraq. But he realized 'Taking Chance,' the true story of an officer escorting the body of a Marine to be buried, needed to be told.
By Michael Ordoņa

May 27, 2009

In his biker jacket, jeans and rock 'n' roll hair, Kevin Bacon looks every inch a guy plucked from a tour with his band, the Bacon Brothers, to talk about his latest project. The HBO movie "Taking Chance" is the true story of an officer escorting the body of a Marine he didn't know across America to be buried. Bacon plays Lt. Col. Michael Strobl, the officer whose first-person account the film is based on.



Why this film now?

I was resistant for a number of reasons. I'd been doing a lot of emotionally intense characters who are holding a lot of stuff inside. It had gone from "Mystic River" to "The Woodsman" -- I just kind of felt [sighs] I just don't want to go down that path again.

I wasn't sure about making a film about Iraq because I had seen that time after time, the content has just not worked. People weren't really interested. So I didn't want to be in another Iraq film that would slip under the radar. But the more I spoke to people about it, including the director, Ross Katz, my agents, my wife, people were able to convince me it wasn't really a movie about Iraq; it was more about war in general.

Coincidentally, I had just done a USO tour of Bethesda Naval Hospital, where most or all of the injured are Marines. That just came smack dab in the middle of my decision-making process, seeing these boys injured, a lot of them badly. I guess it was a story that -- in retrospect, because it was very well received -- needed to be told.



One thing that stood out was the sea change from how people had treated soldiers returning from Vietnam.

I feel like that's a testament to us as a nation learning from our mistakes in Vietnam. We didn't learn from our mistakes in terms of the actual war itself, obviously, because you look at the parallels between the two wars and it's astounding. But I do think we've grown to the point where we can separate the policy from the actual young men and women who are making the sacrifice. We're able to condemn the war and our leaders without condemning the kids who are on the front lines.



The details of an escort's duties also jumped out.

One of the things that's pretty heavily played in the film is the idea of remains that are never going to be viewed, having a perfect uniform on them. Those details were looked at very carefully by the production but also by the Marines, to make sure everything was done in the right way.



How involved was the real Lt. Col. Strobl in the production?

He wrote the screenplay along with Ross Katz. I met him at his home and spent a couple of days with him and his family and his friends. When I'm putting my characters together, I want to fill in as many details about them as I possibly can, and one of the things that's interesting to me is what music they like. So I asked him for a playlist, and he gave me this great Strobl list.



What's a sample of that?

AC/DC; driving, classic rock.



How is he so different from you?

There's no part of me that could become a Marine. It's just not in my DNA to put myself on the front line, to put myself in harm's way. Really, to be able to kill. And to risk your life. I don't think I'd make it through boot camp.



What was the reaction to the film?

When we were shooting, the responses I got on a day-to-day basis were really kind of surprising -- and, in fact, in a strange way, very much paralleled what Mike went through. From place to place to place, people would reach out to him and express respect or sympathy for the family but also to him. When we'd shoot a scene -- as you can tell, our locations were moving all the time -- people would come up to me and say, 'I think it's great that you're doing this. I've got a cousin in Iraq.' Extras were actually moved to tears, just watching. We had nothing in our [coffin] but, still, those images -- it was unlike the average kind of filmmaking experience. It just felt bigger somehow, more important.

calendar@latimes.com

Ellie

Stromberg
05-28-09, 07:57 PM
Bought this movie the other day and watched it last night...

This is one movie that everyone should watch...was pretty hard to keep a dry eye for parts.

Very good :flag:

sparkie
05-28-09, 08:19 PM
Watched it last nite,,,rented outta redbox. If it don't jerk a tear,,,,,You're dead,,,,,,,

One question,,,,,, or 2 ,,,,,, Who was that WM who saluted without a cover? And was he wearing a Vetnam Service ribbon? Just nitpikin,,,,,,,,,,

sscjoe
05-29-09, 08:11 AM
Sparkie, I think the scene you are referring to was when he was getting ready to leave and the morgue(sp) attendant saluted him. I think she was most likely Air Force or Army and they salute uncovered and indoors.

DocGreek
05-29-09, 08:36 AM
:flag:
1968, and 1969 were very difficult years for the Marine Corps, and the Naval Hospital Corps. Some of us, who survived...are afraid to look back at the images of good men being wounded and killed. I hope that their gifts were appreciated by all. Time heals all wounds?? BULLSH!T!! Like I've said before...where are all of those dam protestors TODAY?? Like Tom Whatshisname, who married Hanoi Jane?? May they ALL rot in HE!!. I'm happy that I recorded "Taking Chance", I'll watch it every time I think of how "WE" were treated at our homecoming!!...SEMPER FI....Doc Greek

Sheila Hays
05-29-09, 02:35 PM
I purchased the movie from Amazon, it is still on HBO on Demand. It is really a very stirring movie, my father-in-law was Navy. He's buried at Riverside National Cemetary. I attended the ceremony, but the movie about Chance brought many tears to my eyes, I cried at my father-in-laws ceremony. My step-son gave a speech about his grampa, he had an Air Force escort. Semper Fi Sheila Hays

PaidinBlood
05-29-09, 10:51 PM
Just finished watching it as well...what can I say? These damned allergies will be the death of me... Better try like hell to get to bed now or it will be a long night and not a good one... SF

Sheila Hays
05-30-09, 02:21 PM
Don't feel bad, I just crumbled when they showed the Dress Blues on him, all neatly pressed and creased. His brass was really polished he was definitely squared away. That's a Marine for you, even in death, they will enter heavens gates in their Dress Blues and looking good. I can't stop crying when I think about it. I know in my heart that all Marines will go to heaven, they will protect and guard all streets. I'm a Catholic so that's a given. Semper Fi Sheila Hays

Gunner 0313
06-03-09, 10:32 PM
:flag:Excellent ! A great tribute to our fallen brothers. Pfc. Phelps has touched a lot of lives in his ultimate sacrifice to our nation.

HurricaneRJ
06-05-09, 12:35 PM
I just bought it today at the PX. After the unfortunate incident of a Marine in my platoon I always wondered what happens to the body when he/she gets sent home.

Another movie added to my favorites.

NoRemorse
06-05-09, 12:41 PM
Don't feel bad, I just crumbled when they showed the Dress Blues on him, all neatly pressed and creased. His brass was really polished he was definitely squared away. That's a Marine for you, even in death, they will enter heavens gates in their Dress Blues and looking good. I can't stop crying when I think about it. I know in my heart that all Marines will go to heaven, they will protect and guard all streets. I'm a Catholic so that's a given. Semper Fi Sheila Hays

After the burial... with the wind whipping in the background they faded to black and brought up some pictures of him as a child and later as a young man. Heartbreaking right there.

I figure one or both of his folks didn't want Taps played; if anything would have brought more tears and grief it would have been those solemn notes of closure.

charm1110
06-05-09, 01:17 PM
After the burial... with the wind whipping in the background they faded to black and brought up some pictures of him as a child and later as a young man. Heartbreaking right there.

I figure one or both of his folks didn't want Taps played; if anything would have brought more tears and grief it would have been those solemn notes of closure.

I kinda wondered about that myself but I knew i'd cry my eyes out if they did...

ameriken
06-06-09, 08:25 PM
Just saw this 2 nights ago and could not keep my eyes dry. An excellent example of how Marines honor, respect, and take care of our own. :usmc:

30seconds
06-08-09, 02:21 PM
I saw the movie and a month later i had to do the real thing for a PFC that was killed in my unit. I did'nt think it would be as hard as it was. But we had the whole side of the airport watch me and my Cpl take the flag of his casket and fold it and present to our capt and then carry the casket to the plane. I was the hardest thing i have to do yet. Unless you've done it, it's really hard to relate to. it really really sucked. the bad thing he just got married 3 weeks before he was killed. R.I.P. PFC Gilbert

Shrink
07-27-09, 09:53 PM
Sparkie, I think the scene you are referring to was when he was getting ready to leave and the morgue(sp) attendant saluted him. I think she was most likely Air Force or Army and they salute uncovered and indoors.

For the Record: Part of my training as a new officer was that if we were in a situation, maybe sitting at a desk, and a Soldier reported with the traditional right hand salute, that we should return that salute even though we were uncovered ourselves. The reason: To preclude any misunderstanding that we were ignoring the courtesy of the Soldier who saluted in accordance with his regulations. Made sense to me then, and it does now. Semper Fidelis, Sully

drillinstructor
07-28-09, 06:01 PM
Sir,
Your pooignant recolletion of your journey with young Chance Phelps choked me up as I read it. It was both an honor and a privilege to share this journey with you.

David Trousdale
LCPL, USMC (19889-1997) :tank:

When I get to Heaven, St. Peter I will tell "One more Marine reporting, Sir. I've served my time in Hell."


DO TELL

You are a LCpl and your dates are 1989-1987. What the heck did you do?