I have seen a lot of movies in my time, but I've never seen one like this one. This movie takes a look inside something that most of us never think anything about: what happens when a US military service member is killed in battle.
I'm sure that many of you have seen the pictures of the caskets as they come into Andrews Airforce Base in Dover, Delaware. It is a sobering reminder of what happens when a country is at war.
The question is, what happens to those caskets after they come in? This movie answers all of those questions, and it does it in a very moving way.
The story is based on an essay written by LTC (Retired) Mike Strobl. Strobl volunteered in 2004 to escort the remains of a young man killed in Iraq.
This is about Strobl's personal journey. Strobl is working at Quantico, Virginia as a manpower-deployment analyst. He feels guilty because although he served in the first Gulf War, he hasn't deployed overseas this time. He volunteers to escort the remains of a young marine from his hometown.
The young man he escorted was Chance Phelps, a marine killed in the April 2004 surge, one of the bloodiest parts of the war. Although Strobl doesn't know Phelps, he wants to do something to honor this young marine because they're from the same hometown.
What I liked the most about this movie is that it gives a rare glimpse into what really happens behind the scenes when a US service member dies. Each set of remains is treated with the utmost respect. Service members are carefully prepared for burial, and they are buried in a perfectly prepared uniform regardless of whether the service member is viewed during the funeral or not.
I have to say I cried. As a veteran, these are my brothers and sisters who are dying. As a parent, this could have been my child.
By the end of the movie I felt like I knew the people in this story, who they really are/were, and what their lives were really like.
Regardless of your feelings on the war, this movie is a reminder of the high cost of war, and what our service members have done for us. It is a relief that at least in death we are able to render them a type of respect they might not have received in life.
This movie is not to be missed.
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