"They can give us resolutions until their resolution making machine breaks down.”
– Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, President of Iran, responding to the threat of additional sanctions on his country in response to a new missile test (full article here in the Washington Post)
(Hat tip: Patrick)
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
"The state that separates its scholars from its warriors will have its thinking done by cowards, and its fighting done by fools."
-Thucydides
This morning, John came out from spending some alone time in his room (of his own volition) looking a tad "thick" around his hips. He couldn't even walk without a little waddling and wagging of his bottom, so thoroughly was he padded. What gave? A bit of investigation quickly uncovered that the lad was wearing 14 pairs of underwear!!! Putting on multiple sets of clothing is something that he likes to do, for some reason. I'd seen him put on multiple pairs of underwear in the past, but I think the most I had seen was something like half a dozen or so pairs, excessive but not ridiculous. This was out of control! The situation was soon well in hand, and he was back to a single pair of drawers.
GJS
…for this man, who flew to San Francisco two weeks ago specifically to visit the new California Academy of Sciences museum, where this photo was taken (oh yeah, and to get some miles on his airline of choice). Why? He is 30 years old today. Happy birthday! (Your gift is in the mail. I have, ahem, "responded in kind" to the gift you recently sent for my birthday. Hope you like it!)
You may be wondering, what was he looking at in the above picture? (Besides the funny man taking the photo, that is.) Maybe this:
(It's some people "underwater" – there is a "capsule" on the lower level of the museum, in the aquarium, where you can actually "get into" the exhibit – essentially pop your head up into the reef display. It's pretty cool.) Or maybe this:
This last photo is of an albino alligator. I thought it was fake when I first saw it, so outlandish an appearance it has. A placard nearby the display explained that the way you can tell if what you are looking at is actually an albino versus a non-albino white alligator (?) is the pink-colored eyes the real deal has. Oh, of course, why didn't I pick up on that sooner? J
GJS
