Rated: NR | 1 hr 40 min | 2008 | Starring: Kevin Bacon | |||
This movie, which I have alluded to in several previous posts (the first of which is here), presents an unbiased look at the experiences of a Marine officer escorting the remains of a fellow Marine killed in Iraq home for burial in 2004. I read the original article that the movie was based on when it ran in the Marine Corps Gazette a few years back. You can read it here at the Chance Phelps Foundation website (the formatting on this web page is not the best, making it a little hard to read).
I thought the movie stayed pretty true to what I remember from the article. What you get is an unbiased look at what happens when our service members killed overseas are brought back home: first, transport from overseas and arrival at Dover Air Force Base, where the remains are then made presentable (or as presentable as possible, depending on the extent to which their mortal wounds have or have not made that possible - Phelps' funeral was closed-casket, upon the recommendation of the mortuary affairs crew at Dover). It is at Dover that the remains are met by their escorts - other service members from all services and varied rank. It is noted in the movie that it is abnormal for such a senior officer - a lieutenant colonel - to escort the remains of such a junior Marine (Phelps was a private first class at the time of his death, posthumously promoted to the rank of lance corporal), but the mission is one of catharsis for Lieutenant Colonel Strobl, played by Kevin Bacon. He is an artillery officer, veteran of Desert Storm / Shield, who had missed out on serving in Iraq. Now a manpower analyst working from a cubicle at Quantico, he sees the Phelps' name on the Department of Defense casualty listings, and notes that they are from the same part of the country. This is the genesis of Strobl's volunteering for the escort duty.
It seemed to me that Strobl's feelings of "survivor's guilt" (so to speak) about not being "in the fight" were a bit overblown in the movie. In some ways I have dealt with the same types of feelings, knowing that some of my contemporaries who received different orders out of The Basic School have already served two or more tours in Iraq by this point (and I have served but one, and a truncated one at that), but it is important to keep perspective on things. I also deployed to the southern Philippines and served a year in a demanding aide-de-camp job that yes, wasn't a deployment, but the frequent travel sometimes made it seem almost like one. We all do our part, and although our parts are different, I think the realistic among us maintain the attitude that it is only a matter of time until it is our turn to deploy again. Right now I am a year into three years of not deploying while I am in the Olmsted Scholar Program, and for that I am grateful. I know that when this tour is over, I will return to a deployable unit, and expect that I will be deployed, be it to Afghanistan, Iraq, the Philippines, or wherever duty calls. The difference for Strobl, though, is that he was getting quite close to retirement. I can't say with any experience how that changes things, although I would imagine that it tends to intensify the feelings of being somehow inadequate for not "going" (deploying). With the amount of time I have left in uniform, I don't think I need to worry about this problem.
Some of the reviews of the movie I read prior to seeing it myself warned to keep a box of tissues nearby, and I think you would be hard pressed to say that there are not a few scenes in the movie where the possibility of induced tears is quite real. Don't let this dissuade you from watching this movie. I highly recommend it. You will likely be affected by the diligence and care that the mortuary affairs workers at Dover put into restoring and cleaning the personal effects of the deceased; their careful, almost reverential cleaning and preparing of the bodies; ensuring the uniforms of the fallen are perfect in all cases, regardless of whether or not the funeral services will be closed casket; and the respect and dignity shown by the living service members to the deceased at all stages of their transport from where they fell to their final resting places in Small Town, USA. Although these are dramatized versions of what really goes on, remember these images when the press whirlwind gets going about bans on photos of the caskets of the returning service members (a restriction that is no longer in effect).
The best part about this movie is that it doesn't take sides. It shows you what happens, the respect and dignity involved in the process, and allows you to make up your own mind. This is a formula that more movies should employ.
Available: in stores now (released on DVD 12 May 09). Originally aired on HBO. The copy I watched was courtesy of Netflix. I plan to purchase a copy of this movie for my personal collection (I probably buy a movie (DVD) every 3 years or so, so it may tell you something about what I thought of the movie).
GJS
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