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'Taking Chance' -- HBO film chronicles trip home for fallen Marine
A new HBO movie that will air Saturday, Feb. 21, tells the story of the cross-country escort of the body of a fallen Marine, the son of a former McCook woman and the nephew of a McCook couple, to his final resting place in Wyoming.
The movie. "Taking Chance," is based on a journal written by Marine Lt. Col. Mike Strobl (Ret.), who escorted the body of Chance Phelps, killed in Iraq on April 9, 2004, to his family in Dubois, Wyo. Phelps is the son of Gretchen Pollnow Mack of Riverton, Wyo., formerly of McCook, and John Phelps; he is the nephew of Greg and Kristy Pollnow of McCook.
Strobl, of Quantico, Va., had volunteered for "escort duty," a uniformed escort that ensures that the remains of a fallen serviceman are transported with proper respect and safeguarded all the way to wherever his/her loved ones desire the final resting place to be. Strobl was assigned to accompany Lance Cpl. Chance Phelps from Dover Port Mortuary at Dover Air Force Base, Dover, Del., to Dubois, Wyo.
The movie comes from the "trip report" that Strobl wrote on his journey with Phelps. Strobl explained, "I saw how people were reacting to Chance's sacrifice. I felt like I really wanted to remember it, and the best way to do that was to capture it in a journal."
Following his heart-wrenching and exhausting trip, he shared the journal he called "Taking Chance" with his wife and co-workers.
HBO Executive Producer Brad Krevoy learned of Strobl's journal when he attended the funeral of a friend's son, also killed in Iraq. The young Marine's father handed him a copy of Strobl's story. Krevoy, who admitted he had no understanding of what the military does in these situations, said, "It speaks to what's best about America and how people feel, no matter what their personal opinions might be about the war."
Krevoy contacted Strobl, and with the support of Chance Phelps' family, brought the project to HBO.
Producer Ross Katz collaborated on the screenplay and ultimately directed the project. Katz said, "I was amazed that I didn't know that there were military escorts, and that every time someone dies, there is someone to carry them from point to point. I had no idea what the process was, and how many hundreds of people it takes to bury one person who's killed in action. And this has happened now more than 4,000 times, and we've never seen that process."
Katz explained, "I wanted to make a film that was not about the politics of the war, but a film that was literally about the men and women who go, and what happens to them when they come back. Chance Phelps is not only the military's loss or an administration's loss. He's our loss."
Gretchen Pollnow Mack, Chance Phelps' mother, said she was skeptical at first about interest from HBO, but then reconsidered. She said, "This is a really good way to honor not only our son, but every single man and woman serving in the Armed Services, and family that has lost a family member, a father, son or daughter."
John Phelps, Chance's dad, said, "It's a tribute to the patriotism all the way from Dover to Dubois, and all the people that Lt. Col. Strobl met along the way, and in our little town, how everyone turns out. It's a great opportunity to show that we still are a unified nation, and the patriotism runs deep."
Katz said that two of the greatest aspects of the process have been the Strobl and Phelps families. "What I found," he said, "was this kind of strength of character in the Phelps family that is so moving. I really truly can't imagine what it feels like to get that knock on the door at two o'clock in the morning. You know what the knock on the door means."
Actor Kevin Bacon was cast as Lt. Col. Michael Strobl. Bacon said, "The emotional impact of what (Strobl) went through starts to grow on you. It's a story that we don't see -- this one Marine, committing to his job for this kid he's never met and doesn't know. It's a small, simple story that has much bigger kinds of overtones about loss and the tragedy of war -- and about human kindness."
Bacon said the movie is an interesting juxtaposition between what is thought of as a traditional Marine and Strobl, who is foremost a father and family man. "The truth is," Bacon said, "the Marines are as tough as nails. They are first in line in battle, and they are trained to be warriors. But, of course, they're also human beings and fathers and husbands. This movie shows both sides of that in Lt. Col. Strobl."
Lt. Col. Strobl met Chance's family on the day of his funeral, and a close relationship has since developed between the families. Strobl said it has been his priority, as well as that of Katz, to include the Phelps family in the creative process of adapting their son's story for film.
Krevoy said the Phelps family was particularly concerned that the film be done the right way. He said, "Together with HBO, we talked about the issues that were so important to them -- being honest and truthful, with a lot of integrity."
Bacon said he felt a responsibility to Lt. Col. Strobl and his family and to the family of Chance Phelps, to approach the material with as much honesty and integrity and as little vanity as possible. He said, "Chance Phelps was a heroic kid who had his whole life in front of him, and hopefully whose spirt and memory will live on through this film. His death was a terrible tragedy and a reality of war."
Strobl said, "I've made a very concerted effort to keep them (Chance's family) informed and to seek their consent at every stop, including giving them copies of drafts as it was unfolding. The more significant challenge for me is to make sure the family approves of the final product, and I hope they do. They certainly deserve something that is done right in the name of their son."
"Taking Chance" is an HBO movie based on the first-person narrative of Marine Lt. Col. Michael Strobl (Ret.) as he accompanies the body of 19-year-old Lance Cpl. Chance Phelps, USMC, killed in Iraq in April 2004, across America to his hometown and final resting place, Dubois, Wyo.
HBO and the family of Chance Phelps plans a special screening of "Taking Chance" Wednesday, Feb. 18, in the Dubois High School.
Chance's aunt and uncle, Kristy and Greg Pollnow of McCook, plan to attend to screening and private reception to follow.
More information about Chance Phelps and the "Taking Chance" movie can be found at:
http://www.hbo.com/films/takingchance/index.html
http://www.chancephelps.org/?cat=9
"Taking Chance" has been nominated for a Sundance Film Festival 2009 "Grand Jury Prize."
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