Marine Lieutenant Colonel Mike Strobl (Bacon) is a high ranking Marine who volunteers for this duty because 19-year-old Lance Corporal Chance Phelps was from his home town. During the trip from Dover Air Force Base to Dubois, Wyoming, Stroble kept a journel on which this film is based.
Chance Phelps' Final Journey Home
The final journey of Chance Phelps is an emotional experience not only for Strobl, but for everyone he encounters on the way. He is heartened when along the way people stop to pay tribute to the fallen marine. Even on one of the flights a flight attendant gives him a cross. This actually happened. The majority of this film is true. A few artistic liberties were taken, but by and large, this is what really happened, and this fact makes this film something everyone should see.
Kevin Bacon's Reaction to the Story
“One of the things that's really interesting to me about the film,” says Kevin Bacon, “is that you really get back to the fact that what you read in the paper all the time about war and you can kind of read an article and you can say a certain amount of Marines were killed in this city, or when you see a body count coming up, it doesn't really hit home in the same kind of way as it does if you actually see what happens to the actual remains, you see the preparation, you see the respect, and you see the tradition and the honor that is involved with actually returning them to their final resting place.” It is a fact that the remains of America’s fallen service members do get an escort back home to their final resting place.
“And the story is really a very, very simple one in that it's really just the story of this man and this person Chance that he's returning. And it's almost completely unembellished with anything to make it more cinematic or dramatic or to somehow force us to feel one way or another based on what our preconceived notions are about Iraq and whether or not we should be there or whatever. It's just the simple telling of what this process is like and, in its simplicity, I think, this film becomes an extremely profound comment on the casualties of war.” Bacon was humbled by this experience.
The Real Colonel's Story
The real Lt. Col. Michael Strobl comments, “I think that's something most people aren't aware of and may find very compelling.” He relates about the journey, “I kept a journal, a notebook as the trip unfolded. And I started to realize that this trip -- it had some surprising elements that I wanted to remember, so I just jotted it down in a notebook. And when I returned, I typed up my notes and emailed them to a few of my colleagues.” He says the Marine Corps Public Affairs office has been supportive in getting this story out to the public.
DVD Bonus Features
The DVD contains a deleted scene, a look at the real Chance Phelps, a "making of" bonus, as well as a featurette about the real people portrayed in the film.
