Blue 1 to blue 2, checkpoint alpha bravo has been reached.
Copy, leader 1
Blue 2, we have a suspicious vehicle on the right,
moving pretty fast. Over.
Army corps 4, is he slowing down?
Blue 1, why are you driving so slow?
- You worried about a ticket? Over. - Sorry, guys. Just rubbing one out.
Phelps is down! Phelps is down!
- Good morning, sir. - Good morning.
Once we're quartered, we'll give you a rundown on battalion
and squadron-level readiness and
today's brief will focus on 1st marine division.
The slide indicates that personnel readiness 1st mardiv
is not as bad as they are reporting.
However, sir, as you are aware, last Friday they made a request
for 300 additional augments.
Given the insurgency in Al-Anbar
and the recent spike in casualties,
it's not surprising that they made this request.
Sir, it's my recommendation to just send enough augments
to cover their casualties of last month.
How many of you have been in Iraq since 9 /11?
I know you've spent a lot of time on these reports, but I cannot have
a bunch of analysts contradict the commanders on the ground.
I don't know. With all this administrative crap,
it makes you wonder if we're losing focus on what really matters.
Sometimes I wish I was over there.
I don't know, sir.
Be careful what you wish for, right?
Hey, dad.
- Hello, everybody. - Hi.
Guess who came in first in her swim meet.
Let me guess.
You? High-five. That's great!
Listen, guys, how about we get some homework done before dinner?
I think that sounds like a great idea.
What are you cooking here?
White chicken chili with a balsamic reduction.
- You're getting creative. - Shut up.
Let us pray.
Ready. Down.
- Ready, 2 - Present arms!
Forward march.
Bearers, halt.
That is not nice.
Dad, I think I got all of the words right, but I'm not sure.
I'll throw a quick one at you right now. ''Tortellini.''
T-o-r-i... I don't know.
Sir, last night I read the DOD Announcement about PFC Phelps.
He is from my home town, Clifton, Colorado.
I don't know if this falls to us
or to the Pentagon, but,
sir, if the duty does fall to us.
I would be honored to escort him home.
It's a little unusual for an officer to escort a PFC.
Yes, sir, I know that, but...
I would very much like to do it, sir.
I'm going out of town for a few days. I'm being picked up at 6:00.
- Tomorrow morning? - Yeah.
I volunteered for escort duty.
There was this private 1st class, killed in Iraq. Young kid.
He's from Clifton. I volunteered to take him home.
What is this about, Mike?
It's not about anything. He's from Clifton, that's all.
It's gonna be a quick trip, Stace.
I'll be back next week.
Please tell the family I'm so sorry for their loss.
I will.
I love you.
The remains are to travel feet 1st
when being transported from one point to another.
At every stop,
you must ensure that the remains have been correctly loaded.
At each transfer point,
regardless of the mode of transport,
you will render honors.
Your duty, is not complete
until you have delivered the remains to the funeral director.
Escorts are not required to stay for the funeral.
However, should you decide to stay,
there are specific guidelines for meeting the family.
At no point are you to discuss
the nature of the deceased's death,
no are you to speculate on the activities surrounding the death.
You may deliver the personal effects directly to the next of kin.
These effects must stay on your person
at all times until delivery.
Gentlemen, we have our 1st departure of the day.
We form about in the drive and render honors as all remains depart.
Detail,
attention!
Present arms!
Order arms!
Present arms!
Dismissed!
I'm afraid we've taken a lot of casualties this week.
He's not ready for departure today.
... but not what he completes in his lifetime.
Imagine an evolution occurring over eons...
... the attack tonight comes amid rising violence
between insurgents and coalition troops throughout Iraq.
Marines in Fallujah today pushed
into the chaotic city from several directions.
They met with heavy fire from assault rifles and rocket-propelled grenades.
I bet you didn't know marines could sew.
He was quite impresse, your PFC.
He's so decorated for such a young man.
I didn't know him.
You can be sure that his uniform will be perfect.
Appreciate it, Colonel.
You know, whether it's now or later, it doesn't matter.
But just in case...
He's a military shrink. It's all confidential.
I'm good, thanks.
It's just an FYI.
Colonel Strobl, sir, you'll be leaving in about 15 minutes.
Transport will deliver you to Philadelphia airport
with your final destination, Dubois, Wyoming.
Wyoming?
I thought I was on my way to Colorado, Clifton.
He joined up out in Colorado, but his parents lived in Wyoming.
That's where his family wants him buried.
- That all right? - Of course.
I have PFC Phelps's personal effects.
We'll now do our inventory and turnover.
Sir, Phelps's parents are divorced,
so you'll have an extra flag to present to them.
That way, the mother and the father will each get one.
If you could make sure everything's here, then sign the inventory.
I also have a...
letter Phelps's platoon commander wrote to the family.
Colonel, the mortuary specialist did the best that he could.
However, these remains are not recommended for viewing.
It's been my privilege to care for him, sir.
That's everything, we'll need to make a final identification before departure.
Sir, I need you to verify that this is PFC Chance Phelps,
and that you are ready for departure.
Present arms!
- Feeling okay? - Yeah yeah. I'm good.
We're almost there.
Do you always do these routes?
I just started 6 months ago.
Nobody in my family's in the military and none of my friends.
But I thought about joining up.
Yeah, but I was too chickenshit.
Sorry. I mean too chicken.
You can say shit.
Oh, cool.
And plus the whole haircut thing.
I'm in a band and...
you know, you got to keep it long to keep the ladies happy.
What about you? What's your deal?
My deal? My deal is complicated.
When did you join up?
When I was 17.
My parents had to sign something because I was underage.
Yeah, that's young.
I know,
but I couldn't bear the thought of waiting another year.
All I wanted was to be a marine
and I joined up.
You graduate from boot camp, you think you're on top and you travel
and you see these things you never thought you'd see.
It's hard, of course, but...
it's fun.
- It's fun? - Yeah.
I'm serious.
I've got to be honest.
No offense, but...
I don't really get what we're doing over there.
But...
last summer these 2 guys from my high school went,
and one of them ended up hurt really bad.
And last time I heard, he was at something Reed hospital.
- Walter Reed. - Yeah.
The other one, he didn't make it back.
I just wanted to do something.
Hey, Henry.
How you doin'?
Colonel...
whenever you're ready.
- Will you do me a favor? - Sure.
- Let the family know we're thinking of them.
- Will do.
You're a good man, Rich.
- Thanks. - Be safe.
All right. See ya.
Attention, passengers. Increased security measures...
Welcome to Northwest Airlines. ID, please.
I have a voucher.
He's the military escort. I'll check him in.
I've booked you through to Billings,
but you can get your bags off in Minneapolis tonight.
I upgraded you to 1st class
all the way to Billings.
Thanks. Appreciate that.
Thank you for your service.
Thanks again.
Belt, shoes, laptop in a separate bin.
All metal out of your pockets.
Sir, your bag needs to go through.
Yeah, you can wand this bag, but it can't go through the x-ray machine.
Please don't tell me how to do my job.
The bag can't go through.
Well, it's your call. It's gonna take you longer.
Bag check, male.
Sir, I need you to remove your jacket and place it in the bin.
I can't remove the jacket. You can hand-check me.
- Is there a supervisor around? - Not right here.
Remove your jacket. It needs to go through the machine.
I will not remove this jacket and denigrate this uniform.
You have a lot of metal on your jacket. It needs to go through the machine.
Take me to a private room
and wand me there.
Turn around, please.
- Excuse me, sir. Are you the escort? - Yes.
- How you doing? - All right.
- I need to get down to the tarmac to watch loading.
- Sure.
- So where you from? - Colorado originally.
It's a long time since I've been there.
- You? - All over.
My old man was career air force, so we moved around a lot.
- How was that? - It was all right.
I actually kind of miss it now that I'm settled here.
We're gonna wait right here. He's coming around.
Yeah, the moving around is kind of cool when you're single, and then...
you get married, have kids, it's a other deal.
You do this escort stuff, mostly?
Me? No, I... I work in a cubicle.
- I volunteered for this one. - It must be hard.
- I need to verify. - Yeah, go ahead.
- You can stand right here if you want. - Thanks.
- 2A? - It's right down on your right, sir.
Excuse me. Thank you.
Can I get you something to drink?
Jack daniels rocks, please.
- And for you, sir? - Water, thank you.
What's the matter? You on duty or something?
Yes, I am.
Excuse me, sir?
I want you to have this.
It'll be a couple of minutes. Sorry about the delay.
We're waiting on a conveyor.
But we're gonna get all the luggage off first,
then we'll remove the remains.
I'd like to keep him separate from the baggage, if that's possible.
That's the plan. We're not gonna move him with the rest of the luggage.
All right. Sounds good.
You know, there's another escort here from dover.
- I've seen a lot of you guys lately. - Excuse me.
Evening.
Evening, sir. I wasn't expecting to see you here.
I got a connecting flight. How's your trip going so far?
It's been fine.
It's weird though, sir.
They all know,
like, without me telling anyone.
Both at Philadelphia and so far here in Minneapolis.
I guess they figured it out by the uniforms.
Yeah, you know, I've had the same thing,
which is...
okay, because I'm not really interested in explaining it.
It looks like yours is coming out now.
Present... Arms!
Order... Arms!
When you're ready, we'll go over to the cargo warehouse and get everything set.
Yeah, okay. Just give me a minute. I still need to verify.
So what's your destination, sergeant?
I'm headed to rochester. It's about 90 miles from here.
My family is meeting us there.
Are you related to the deceased, son?
Yes, sir.
He's my brother.
Present... Arms!
Order... Arms!
Well, you... Take care of yourself, son.
Thank you, sir.
You too.
So he can just, stay here all night?
- Yeah. - There's no need to move him?
Don't worry. No one's going near him.
When you're ready, we have a taxi waiting to take you to your hotel.
Actually, I tell you, if I could just get a chair, i'm all set.
I really don't want to leave him here alone.
You want to sleep in here?
I need to check with my supervisor. I'm not sure we're allowed to do that.
Could you?
I know it's late, but I'd really appreciate it.
I had this in my jeep.
It should be a little more comfortable than that chair.
Thanks.
- Thanks, I appreciate that. - Take care.
Good night.
I heard we were carrying remains today.
- You must be the escort. - Mike Strobl.
- Tom garrett. - How you doing, Tom?
Where'd you get that combat action ribbon?
Desert Storm.
I was flying an A-10 in Desert Storm.
Man, we tore it up over there.
You guys were good.
I was a lieutenant, artillery battalion, 1st marine division.
You've been...
back this time around?
No, I'm a numbers cruncher now.
I analyze manpower at Quantico.
Well, I guess you saw enough action in Kuwait?
No, not so much.
I tell you, I really miss it some days.
Excuse me.
Thank you.
- Annie. - Mike.
I guess we're travel mates for the next few hours.
I have tons of magazines. I'm happy to share.
Thank you.
HOT SOLDIER SITTING NEXT TO ME ON PLANE
It's marine, actually.
How embarrassing.
It's okay.
Trust me, you're a breath of fresh air.
I can't believe how fast you get with your thumbs on those things.
I have a lot to say.
Welcome to Billings, folks.
I'm going to ask that you remain seated for a moment.
During this flight,
I've had the honor of carrying the remains of a fallen marine.
I'm going to inconvenience you for a few moments
while the escort disembarks the plane.
- I didn't know. I'm so sorry. - As you go about your day,
- keep the family in your thoughts. - It's okay.
Thanks for the company.
Well, I'm off to Cheyenne.
- Thanks for the smooth flying. - You bet.
What was his name, your marine?
PFC Chance Phelps.
Chance Phelps.
I know the name of every KIA I've ever carried.
You take care of yourself.
Thanks. You too.
I'm Gary
- from Rafferty's funeral home. - Gary, Mike Strobl.
It's a real honor to meet you, sir.
I've got a hearse. It's ready to go.
We should get started as soon as we can. We've got a long drive ahead of us.
Took me over 5 hours to get up here this morning.
I didn't know Chance real well.
I've known his dad for years.
I'm glad he's finally home.
- You must be Major Thompson. - Yes, sir. Mike Thompson
from I&I 223 down in Salt Lake City.
- Good to meet you, Major. - Sir.
- I guess you've had a hell of a week? - Yes, sir.
Sergeant Burton and I drove all night to get up here on Saturday.
We notified the mother at 0-2 on saturday morning.
I tell you, sir, I hope to never go through that again.
- So how's the family doing? - Well, sir, it's kind of hard to say.
Sometimes I think they're doing OK, but then...
You know. It's hard to say.
- How are you doing? - I'm okay.
It's just been a long week, sir.
The VFW Post up in Dubois
is having a get-together tonight in honor of Chance.
- You might want to come up for that. - Okay. Sounds good.
- I'm glad you're here, sir. - Yeah, me too.
Your hotel is up in Dubois,
where the ceremony's gonna be.
You'll want to head out of here and get settled.
- I'm sorry about all the driving. - Not a problem, Gary.
If I can get you to sign off on the paperwork,
then we can call it a day.
That sounds fine.
I have some items the family would like to have inserted into the casket.
They said they'd prefer not to view the remains,
so I guess now would be a good time to do that.
Yeah, that would be good, and I need to check on his uniform.
You know it's gonna be a closed-casket funeral?
I understand, but...
just want to make sure he's squared away.
Okay, go ahead.
Look at that. He's got 6 ribbons.
- And he's a PFC, it's amazing. - Yeah.
The folks at Dover did a great job.
They knew he wasn't gonna be viewed and his uniform is...
perfect.
I'm gonna...
take care of the paperwork.
If you're ready.
Excuse me, sir.
Are you the marine who brought Chance home?
Yes, sir. Mike Strobl.
Semper Fi, colonel. I'm Charlie Fitts.
Listen, this whole town is grateful to you.
It was my honor.
Korea?
It's a privilege to meet an old 1st marine division warrior.
There's some fellows here been waiting all night to meet you.
Fellas!
This is Chance's escort,
Colonel Strobl.
Larry Hertzog. Welcome.
- Robert Rouse. - How are you?
A.V. Scott.
Here we have Gunny Mulcahy,
Chance's recruiter.
And Sergeant Michael Arenz.
He was with Chance when he died.
Sergeant.
Jenny, let's get this man a cold beer.
He's been on a long and lonely trip.
Did you know Chance?
No, I didn't know him.
You missed out.
Sure did.
You know, a lot of recruits, myself included,
lose a big part of their personality when they go through boot camp.
Sort of the point.
But, Chance, he comes back from boot camp,
he sure as hell was a marine,
but he was still Chance.
Same old wise-ass smile.
He could get away with anything just by flashing that grin.
Our 1st mortar attack in Ramadi,
everybody's yelling, ''Grab your kevlars! Grab your flaks!''
We were all scared, you know? Like, ''welcome to Iraq.''
Everybody's running, trying to get to the bunker.
Phelps,
he's got his shower shoes on, grabs his rifle, runs outside,
he's like, ''where they at?''
Everybody's yelling, ''Phelps, get your ass back in here, man! Take cover!''
He's still standing outside
in his shower shoes.
If you guys would excuse us, we need to head out.
We're building something special to take him up to the cemetery tomorrow.
- Anything I can do? - I think you've done enough.
- Colonel, good night. Thank you. - Good night.
The convoy's moving along,
doing a routine patrol south of Baghdad, and...
Chance wasn't even supposed to be there that day.
It was his rest day.
And knowing we were going out, he just had to come.
Chance was up in the turret looking out for trouble.
That was his spot.
The most dangerous job a marine can have.
Yeah, you're totally exposed up there.
He loved it though.
It always made me feel safe
seeing those shoes there.
In Iraq, Chance was just a big old pair of size-12 shoes looking out for us.
Anyhow, we were driving along.
Suddenly there's this huge boom.
Out of nowhere, an IED had gone off in the front of the convoy, so...
I jump out, check on the rest of the vehicles, and...
It was madness.
There was bullets flying everywhere.
It was chaos, just total chaos, but...
I could hear behind me Chance's 240 opening up,
just unleashing an ungodly amount of fire on the mujahideen.
So I thought, ''okay, that part of the convoy's okay.''
He attracted all the fire to himself
so that the rest of us could take cover,
get organized and get out.
So after I checked on the first 2 vehicles,
I run back towards our vehicle, and...
I could see Chance was shooting all over the place.
He was up in the air, everywhere.
Just erratic, you know?
I yelled at him. I was like, ''Jesus, Phelps,
don't shoot the birds, man.''
I thought he was trying to scare them or something.
His finger was still on the trigger, shooting,
but his head was slumped over.
I got a little bit closer, I could see some blood coming down of his head.
Inside the vehicle, Doc checked his vitals, and...
he was gone.
6 of us...
held him in our hands all the way back to the base.
I just keep running it, you know, in my mind, like,
''What could I have done better? What could I have done different?''
What do you say to somebody's mom when they tell you,
''it's not your fault. You couldn't have done anything.''
I owed it to him to save him.
I'm the one who trained him.
I just can't believe that I'm here and he's not.
I'm glad you're here, Sergeant.
Thank you, sir.
It means a lot coming from you.
He'd be so honored knowing such a senior officer brought him home.
- Sir. - Sergeant.
What that kid has to live with.
I should've been over there.
- It wasn't your time, Colonel. - It was exactly my time.
I knew the clock was ticking,
knew my time was coming up.
But I just...
kept ignoring it, you know?
Except for the middle of the night, when I...
would check those casualty lists, just...
praying that I didn't recognize any of the names.
I don't know, you know, I just...
I just got...
used to seeing my wife and kids
every day, and...
So I put in a request for another office tour,
and it was granted.
They must've needed you here.
My friends went.
Guys I was in Desert Storm with went.
I stayed home.
I was trained to fight.
If I'm not over there, what am I?
Those guys,
guys like Chance...
They're marines.
And you think you're not?
Want to be with your family every night.
You think you have to justify that?
You'd better stop right there, sir.
You've brought Chance home.
You're his witness now.
Without a witness,
they just disappear.
You're Chance's escort?
- Mike Strobl. - John Phelps, Chance's dad.
This is my wife, Chris, Chance's step-mom.
Welcome.
- And Chance's step-dad Jeff. - Colonel.
And this is Chance's sister Kelley,
- and her fiance Rob. - Hello, sir.
I'm Chance's mother.
Thank you for your service.
It's my honor, ma'am.
I'm just so sorry for your loss.
Please come and sit.
A chair.
- Thank you. - Come on, dear.
First, I...
want you all to know that...
all along the way,
Chance was treated with dignity
and respect
and honor.
I have here a letter from...
Chance's platoon commander.
Thank you.
I also have here
some of Chance's things.
It's still set on Baghdad time.
Here.
This is the medal that grandma gave him.
Remember?
I want you to know
you do not mourn alone today.
All across America,
from Virginia
to Delaware, Pennsylvania, Minnesota,
Montana, Wyoming,
people are thinking of you
and praying for you.
You should know that
Chance has touched
many people.
There's one more thing that I'd like you to have.
A flight attendant in Philadelphia handed this to me, and...
it seemed like it was very special to her. I was...
going to keep it as a reminder of the trip,
but then I realized that...
she wasn't giving it to me.
She was giving it to you.
''April 9th, 2004...
To the family of PFC Chance Phelps.
Dear Mr. And Mrs. Phelps,
I'm sure by now you have learned of Chance's death.
I don't have the words to tell you
how sorry I am for your loss.
Chance meant the world to me
and to all of us here in the second platoon.
I know parents aren't supposed to have favorites, but...
trust me, platoon commanders do.
Chance was a unique character.
Where most marines would put in shows of false bravado,
Chance would quietly attend to his business,
and he led to get people to underestimate him.
His quick smile and friendly manner
were always disarming and warming,
but there was no mistaking.
He was as fierce in battle as he was gentle in friendship.''
Please be seated.
We are here to honor the life of Private 1st Class
Chance Russell Phelps.
''... please know that he died a hero,
but more importantly,
he lived a hero.
It's ironic,
but I am certain that if the world had more men like Chance Phelps
there wouldn't be a need for a marine corps.''
Fire.
Ready,
aim,
fire.
From the president of the US and commandant of the marine corps
and a grateful nation, please accept this flag
as a token of your son's faithful service to his country. Semper Fidelis.
From the president of the US, the commandant of the marine corps
and a grateful nation, please accept this flag
for your son's honorable and faithful service to his country.
Semper Fidelis.
Thank you.
Put your cell phones in the tray, please.
Can I ask you to step up?
Remove your shoes.
Chance Phelps was wearing his St. Christopher medal
when he was killed on good friday.
8 days later,
I handed the medallion to his mother.
I watched them carry him the final 15 yards.
I felt that...
as long as he was still moving,
he was somehow still alive.
When they put him down in his grave,
he'd stopped moving.
I didn't know Chance Phelps before he died.
But today...
I miss him.
Come here. Group hug.
How you guys doing?