'chance' Of A Lifetime

[thedrifter]

HBO is 'Taking Chance'

By Scott D. Pierce

Deseret News
Published: February 20, 2009

UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif. — HBO's "Taking Chance" isn't easy to describe.

At it's most simple, it's a fact-based telefilm about a Marine Corps officer who accompanies the body of a young Marine killed in Iraq to their mutual hometown in Wyoming. But it's so much more than that — a heart-rending, heartwarming journey that demonstrates the best of America.

"It's not an Iraq war movie per se," said director/co-writer Ross Katz. "It's a very personal story."

It's the very personal story of Lt. Col. Michael Strobl (Kevin Bacon), who, in 2004, volunteered to accompany the body of 19-year-old Lance Cpl. Chance Phelps from Dover Air Force Base in Delaware to Dubois, Wyo. Strobl kept a journal of that journey. He shared that with some of his friends, who shared it with other Marines — and it became the basis of the HBO film that premieres Saturday at 9 p.m.

Strobl said he began jotting things down when he saw a group of construction workers at the Dover mortuary.

"The two days I was at Dover, I think they had about a dozen departures of remains. And every time the remains would leave, these construction workers would stop their work, put their hard hats over their heart, and stand at their version of attention," he said. "And seeing that, I realized I want to remember this because there's really some goodness there."

He had a series of encounters with a hearse driver, flight attendants, baggage handlers, cargo people, "all of these people who you can presume covered the spectrum of political views. They all had this profound sense of gratitude and sorrow at Chance's loss.

"By the time I put it all together, I just thought if these people can react this way — people who didn't know Chance, didn't know the circumstances of his death, all they knew was he was a Marine who died in combat — they represented, to me, all that's good about America."

"Taking Chance" is not in any way a political statement — it's neither pro-war nor anti-war.

But it does come at a time when President Obama is evaluating the Bush administration policy that forbids press coverage of the flag-draped coffins of fallen service men and women returning to the United States.

Bacon said he believes the film puts a face on the statistics of how many Americans have been killed in Iraq.

"When you see a body count coming up, it doesn't really hit home in the same kind of way as it does if you actually see what happens to the actual remains — you see the preparation, you see the respect, and you see the tradition and the honor that is involved with actually returning them to their final resting place," he said. "And the story is really a very, very simple one. … It's almost completely unembellished with anything to make it more cinematic or dramatic or to somehow force us to feel one way or another based on what our preconceived notions are about Iraq and whether or not we should have been in there or whatever.

"It's just the simple telling of what this process is like and, in its simplicity, I think, becomes an extremely profound kind of comment on the casualties of war."

THREE MARINES: Kevin Bacon plays a Marine in "Taking Chance"; he plays a different Marine in the current theatrical release "Frost/Nixon." (He portrays Maj. Jack Brennan, a military aide to Richard Nixon who became Nixon's post-resignation chief of staff.)

But it's a coincidence, not a trend.

"Well, I guess I've played three Marines — (in) 'A Few Good Men,' 'Frost/Nixon' and 'Taking Chance,' " Bacon said, pointing out that after all the movies he's done, it's no different than having coincidentally played three cops or three killers.

"The one thing I will say is that there is no part of me that ever considered being a Marine (or) could make it in the Marine Corps. I am definitely not that guy," he said. "I'm not the guy to throw myself in harm's way. I would never make it through boot camp.

"It's all acting."

E-mail: pierce@desnews.com

Ellie

[thedrifter]

Taking Chance Premieres Tomorrow at 8 PM
Today at 1:41pm

In April 2004, Lieutenant Colonel Michael Strobl, USMC, came across the name of 19-year-old Lance Corporal Chance Phelps, a young Marine who had been killed by hostile fire in Al Anbar Province, Iraq. Strobl, a Desert Storm veteran with 17 years of military service, requested that he be assigned for military escort duty to accompany Chance's remains to his family in Dubois, Wyo.

Witnessing the spontaneous outpouring of support and respect for the fallen Marine - from the groundskeepers he passed along the road to the cargo handlers at the airport - Strobl was moved to capture the experience in his personal journal, writing Taking Chance.

Read the original article on which Taking Chance was based, and tune in for the film's premiere tomorrow night.

http://www.hbo.com/films/takingchanc...cle/index.html


The HBO Films premiere of Taking Chance

This event is planned to start at 8:00 pm on Feb 21, 2009 at Everywhere, USA.

Ellie

[thedrifter]

Airmen, Marines highlight missions in HBO movie

by Capt. Shannon Collins
Defense Media Activity-San Antonio

2/20/2009 - SAN ANTONIO (AFNS) -- More than 35 Airmen and 50 Marines who served as extras and subject matter experts to showcase how the military and American community cares for servicemembers for HBO's "Taking Chance" will see their hard work pay off when the show airs Feb. 21.

"Taking Chance" is a movie based on the first-person narrative of retired Marine Lt. Col. Michael Strobl as he accompanies the body of 19-year-old Lance Cpl. Chance Phelps, killed in Iraq in April 2004, from Dover Air Force Base, Del., to his hometown and final resting place of Dubois, Wyo.

To assist HBO Executive Producer Brad Krevoy with the making of the movie, active-duty and Reserve Marines from New York, New Jersey, Utah and Montana, took leave to serve as extras. About 35 active-duty Airmen from McGuire AFB, N.J., took leave to serve as extras while director Ross Katz filmed scenes in and around a static C-17 Globemaster III at McGuire AFB. Civilian subject matter experts from the Charles Carson Center for Mortuary Affairs, also called the Dover Port Mortuary at Dover AFB volunteered their expertise to make sure the movie was realistic and conveyed the sensitivity of their daily mission, respecting the fallen.

Ensuring respect is paid to the fallen servicemembers is a way of life for subject matter expert and movie technical advisor Bill Zwicharowski, who works for the Charles Carson Center for Mortuary Affairs. Having served as a Marine and having worked with the Army for 10 years and with the Air Force for 10 years, he was familiar with Colonel Strobl's story.

"It was an amazing story of how pride and patriotism continued way beyond the journey to and through Dover Port Mortuary," the senior mortuary specialist said. "It seemed that every stop along the way, people cared as much as we do here at Dover -- that was so reassuring for us to know."

When he was asked to help with the movie, the licensed funeral director and embalmer said he was honored but slightly leery.

"I was certainly honored but I feared that the movie wouldn't portray the care given to our fallen," he said. "When I saw the trailer, I was especially impressed and relieved that HBO and everyone involved made every effort to ensure that the movie was realistic and that it conveyed the sensitivity of our mission. Every time I see the trailer, I still get goose bumps."

His mission, along with his co-workers, is to prepare and transport the fallen in the most timely, most sensitive, professional manner possible.

"Every fallen hero comes to Dover and is escorted home," Mr. Zwicharowski said. "Everyone along the way truly cares."

When Marine Gunnery Sgt. Chago Zapata, the Department of Defense Project Officer for the movie, read the script in 2007, he said, "This is a project the Marine Corps must be a part of."

"There's no hidden political agenda; it's just a true and honest story about a Marine taking one of our fallen home to his family," said the Public Affairs Chief with the Marine Corps Motion Picture and Television Liaison Office in Los Angeles.

For Sergeant Zapata, it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

"You could work here for 50 years and never have a project so powerful or so positive come through the office," he said. "I've worked on big blockbuster productions that were viewed throughout the world and brought in millions of dollars, but they didn't inspire the kind of pride and sense of accomplishment I feel about my involvement with 'Taking Chance.'"

During the filming, Marine Corps Burial Details conducted the fallen Marine's dignified transfer from the C-17 at McGuire AFB. These Marines perform this honorable duty in real life.

"They were amazing and left an indelible impression on the production crew," the sergeant said.

Sergeant Zapata has seen the movie twice to make sure uniforms were correct and the military was portrayed as realistically as possible. Even though he knew what to expect and had been present at the various filming projects, it still affected him.

"It's brought a lump to my throat every time," the Marine said.

Mr. Chuck Davis, chief, Air Force Motion Picture and Television Liaison, Air Force Office of Public Affairs, Entertainment Liaison Office, echoed his sentiment.

"Knowing that the story was based upon real events made this a very, very special project," he said. "Of all the movies and TV shows I have worked on here for the Air Force during the past 25 years, this is the one I am most proud of. It's an incredibly moving story."

Mr. Davis' and Sergeant Zapata's offices support various television and motion picture projects to give the American audience a greater awareness of the military and its missions.

"This movie offered us the opportunity to show the audience the importance of strategic airlift and the professionalism of our Airmen as they care for one another," Mr. Davis said. "For 'Taking Chance,' the audience will see that freedom is not free and that our young military men and women face inherent dangers every day in maintaining the freedoms they themselves inherited and are willing to sacrifice for."

The Air Force, Marine, Navy and Army liaison offices continue to support motion picture and TV productions to increase public awareness.

"It gives the DOD an opportunity to reach an incredibly large audience," Gunnery Sergeant Zapata said. "It's important for the American people to see what their military does. The more they understand our missions, capabilities and the honor, courage and commitment that go into our service, the better."

Ellie

[thedrifter]

Kevin Bacon plays against type, again, in solemn HBO film 'Taking Chance'
Posted by dawalker February 21, 2009 03:34AM

HBOIn HBO's Taking Chance,' Kevin Bacon portrays a Marine officer accompanying a young Marine's remains back to his hometown for burial.

Kevin Bacon is quick to admit that he's several degrees of separation from the character he plays in "Taking Chance," the new HBO movie debuting at 7 p.m. Saturday (Feb. 21).

Dating all the way back to his very brief role as an ROTC cadet in "Animal House," Bacon has portrayed several military men during his career, including memorable roles in "A Few Good Men" and "Frost/Nixon."

He's terrific in "Taking Chance," too, but none of the above roles were were type-casting.

"There is no part of me that ever considered being a Marine, could make it in the Marine Corps," he said during the January TV Tour in Los Angeles. "I am definitely not that guy. I'm not the guy to throw myself in harm's way. I would never make it through boot camp.

"It's all acting."

"Taking Chance" tells the the deeply moving story of a Marine officer accompanying the remains of a young Marine killed in Iraq back to the deceased's hometown. Developed by the real-life Marine on whom Bacon's character is based, and with the cooperation of the deceased's parents, it's a seemingly uncomplicated tale about a taciturn character that nonetheless flows with emotion.

"One of the things that's really interesting to me about the film is that you really get back to the fact that what you read in the paper all the time about war -- and you can kind of read an article and you can say, 'A certain amount of Marines were killed in this city,' or when you see a body count coming up -- it doesn't really hit home in the same kind of way as it does if you actually see what happens to the actual remains," Bacon said. "You see the preparation, you see the respect, and you see the tradition and the honor that is involved with actually returning them to their final resting place.

"The story is really a very, very simple one in that it's really just the story of this man and this person Chance that he's returning. And it's almost completely unembellished with anything to make it more cinematic or dramatic or to somehow force us to feel one way or another based on what our preconceived notions are about Iraq and whether or not we should have been in there or whatever. It's just the simple telling of what this process is like and, in its simplicity, I think, becomes an extremely profound kind of comment on the casualties of war."

Ellie

[thedrifter]

television
Military-escort role opened eyes of actor
Saturday, February 21, 2009 3:11 AM
By David Germain
ASSOCIATED PRESS

PARK CITY, Utah -- First comes the bearer of bad news: A loved one has died in combat. Then comes the bearer of the loved one: The military escort who brings the fallen home.


The HBO drama Taking Chance chronicles a home-front saga little-known to most Americans -- the procedures and protocols followed in tending to our battle casualties and the honors paid them on their last journey.

Based on a true story, the film stars Bacon as Marine Lt. Col. Michael Strobl, a career officer who volunteered to escort the body of Lance Cpl. Chance Phelps back to his family in Wyoming after the 19-year-old was killed in Iraq in April 2004.

Based in Quantico, Va., Strobl traveled to the military mortuary at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware, where Phelps' body was prepared.

The film depicts the agonizing attention devoted to slain troops: blood and grime scrubbed from dog tags, watches and other personal effects; hands carefully cleaned, though they will be concealed by white gloves; uniforms and medals meticulously arranged.

And that's just the beginning. Along the way, escorts and other military personnel must solemnly salute the dead each time their bodies are taken off a hearse or loaded onto a plane.

"It never occurred to me, the painstaking detail," Bacon said in an interview alongside Strobl at the Sundance Film Festival last month, where Taking Chance premiered.

"The fact that the honors are rendered when the remains are moved from one place to another -- . . . I was really stunned, and then I think that's, in a way, what the essence of the movie is," Bacon said. "You tell this very, very simple, specific story about this guy and this kid and this one journey; then, hopefully, people start to think about the bigger picture of the families and the loss of life and the sacrifice."

Along the way, Bacon's Strobl encounters little moments of compassion and communal grief with strangers who are moved by the young man's voyage home.

A civilian hearse driver explains that he took the job partly in honor of friends wounded or killed in Iraq. An airline clerk upgrades Strobl to first-class with a somber thank you for his escort duty. A flight attendant gives him a gold crucifix. An airline pilot who -- like Strobl -- served in Desert Storm joins in saluting Phelps.

"People you can presume represented the whole spectrum of views on our policies, they all, without exception, were grateful for Chance and saddened by the loss," said Strobl, who retired from the Marines in 2007 and works in a civilian job at the Pentagon.

Escorts are required to keep detailed records of their trips. As Strobl continued to meet people touched by Phelps, his record changed from by-the-

numbers details to a personal

journal.

Strobl shared it with colleagues, and the story eventually made its way to executive producer Brad Krevoy, who took the project to HBO.

Ross Katz, a producer of Lost in Translation and In the Bedroom, collaborated with Strobl to write the screenplay and made his directing debut on Taking Chance.
• will premiere at 8 tonight on HBO.

Ellie

[thedrifter]

Dubois salutes 'Taking Chance' film

By Gazette News Services
DUBOIS - About 1,000 people watched a preview of an HBO film chronicling the return of a Marine's body to Wyoming for burial after he was killed in Iraq. "Taking Chance" was shown last week in the Dubois High School gymnasium. The film was created based on the writings of now-retired Lt. Col. Michael Strobl, who escorted the body of Lance Cpl. Chance Phelps home to Dubois after the young Marine was killed on April 9, 2004, in Iraq.

Phelps had been serving as a member of Maj. Gen. John Kelly's personal security detachment when he was killed, and the general was present to speak about the events leading up to Phelps's death. He said his detachment had been traveling to a particularly dangerous part of Iraq when the convey came under fire. He said Phelps had been positioned on a turret gun atop one of the vehicles. "Out of the right corner of my eye (his) vehicle came up, with the turret gun going into the teeth of that fire to save Marines in pretty serious straits," Kelly said.

After the screen faded to black, there was a moment of stunned silence in the gymnasium. Then, the crowd erupted into thunderous applause, giving a standing ovation. Whistles and shouts of "bravo!" rang through the air as the audience clapped.

Ellie

[thedrifter]

[UPDATED] Chance Phelps Last Stand - According to Major General Kelly
Posted By Blackfive

Update: For Steve Cochran's listeners on WGN Radio, here is the link to the original story now on HBO - "Taking Chance".

Update 2: From Doc Peabody, the US Navy Hospital Corpsman who attended to Chance Phelps:

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...

Dulce Bellum Inexpertis,

Doc Peabody.

Corporal Seamus sends us this message from April 2004 about Lance Corporal Chance Phelps. It is the message that Major General John F. Kelly (then a Brigadier) sent to Lieutenant Colonel Michael Strobl after the General had read LtCol Strobl's trip report which you now know as "Taking Chance". Both officers have cleared the release of their email:

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

Mike,

I just read your trip report forwarded to me by CO, 11 th Marines, and having done the kind of duty you report about I know the emotions and pride. I was with the Marine you escorted, nearly right next to him, when he was killed instantly along side a road named ASR San Juan . The closest village is Jurf as Sakhr, and it sits right on the Euphrates River with Fallujah 25kms to the N, and Baghdad perhaps 45 to the NNE. This is an ugly little section of Iraq and full of extremists that hate us for some reason. Don’t know why, but that’s the way it is. We were in five vehicles and were caught in a complex ambush. They initiated it with an IED that caught the lead vehicle, disabled it, and wounded two of the three Marines inside. After the IED there was immediate massed MG, AK, RPG, and mortar fire that certainly defined for me the term “withering.” The second vehicle was also caught in the kill zone, but they it did a 180 and out – two WIA aboard from the initial volley. The third vehicle was outside the KZ, but seeing #1 disabled and the Marines in extremis drove in, dismounted, set up a base fire, and started to work the comms. The other vehicles dismounted outside the KZ and began to seek the flank of the ambush. Your Marine’s vehicle was called forward to try and close the back door and prevent the guerrillas escape so we could kill them, and after accomplishing the maneuver and putting his gun in action, he was hit. Over time we shot our way out of it. We collected up wounded, dead, and all equipment from the destroyed HMMWV, then walked out of the KZ shooting the entire time until we were clear. All the Marines in the patrol did what we trained them to do, did it instinctively, and as if they were born to it. Every one of them returned fire, moved to the sound of the guns, and took action. There was certainly nothing special about any of them, by the way, other than they were MARINES.

Your charge started this return home with the same kind of reverence and honor you describe in your trip report, only in a very, very different way. When we rushed into the combat base in Mahmudiyah it wasn’t for him, we knew he was already with God, but for the WIAs we had aboard. The entire camp knew he was with us, however, and they all stood tall and were proud to simply be in the same **** hole with him and doing what they joined to do. The Navy Docs went right to it with the WIAs and saved lives, at the same time we removed him from the vehicle it’s turret having been immediately manned by another Marine who’d himself been hit in the face, but pressed with the mission and the gun never went quiet in the process. The dead Marine, only just out of high school last May, was of course filthy dirty and his uniform vastly different than the one you saw him in. He obviously was not wearing any ribbons, but did have his flak and all the other accoutrements of a field Marine on when we removed him. He was also still soaked from the unbelievable sweating a fight brings on. His buddies spent a few quiet moments and we talked about the loss, and what he meant – what he was like – to them all. Everyone offered a vignette, most were silly or funny, but that’s the kind of guy he was. We then withdrew as there was a detailed critique to conduct (actions on contact, who did what, what worked, what didn’t work, what could have done better, and all the what ifs that go with learning the trade and getting better), and then the platoon commander (himself quite a guy) got right to it as there were also weapons to clean, and preps to be made for the next patrol. Life goes on doesn’t it. This all took place, by the way, at about 1500 local on Good Friday. Thought you should know the rest of the story. Thanks for taking care of our Marine.

Semper Fidelis,

Kelly

Major General John F. Kelly is someone you should know (or at least read). Our other items from the general are here, here and here.

Update: LtCol Strobl gave a podcast interview to *************.

Below is a re-post about the movie that airs on HBO on the 21st:

"Chance Phelps was wearing his Saint Christopher medal when he was killed on Good Friday. Eight days later, I handed the medallion to his mother. I didn't know Chance before he died. Today, I miss him." - LtCol Michael R. Strobl, USMC (Ret.), “Taking Chance”

Four and a half years ago, I was asked to post "Taking Chance" by LtCol Michael Strobl. It evoked one of the strongest reactions on BlackFive that I have seen since starting the blog in mid-2003. The story also gave me the honor to get to know some of the friends and family and Marine brothers of Chance.

I included Taking Chance in the Blog of War (Chance is one of the men that the book is dedicated to) and we have followed it's trajectory until, finally, it will be aired as a movie on HBO on February 21st. Kevin Bacon will portray LtCol Strobl.

It sure seems like HBO stayed true to LtCol Strobl, and, more importantly, Lance Corporal Chance Phelps.

Thanks to LtCol Strobl, we all miss Chance.

http://podcasts.military. com/2009/02/the-marine-behind-taking-chance.html?wh=wh
(put all together...I did it this way that You all can view since it will sensor out..)

Ellie