Taking Chance

Yesterday in Washington, Defense Secretary Robert Gates announced a revision to the Pentagon's long-standing ban on media photographs of the flag-draped coffins of fallen U.S. servicemen. See here: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29410258/

In rescinding the controversial ban--critics claimed it was an attempt to hide war casualties from the public--Sec. Gates left the decision of whether to allow photographs up to the families of the deceased.

I never sympathized with the policy's critics--mostly self-interested media. Unfortunately, the modern media seldom exhibit much in the way of self-discipline and coverage can quickly degenerate into a circus. Fallen heroes and their families deserve better.

I was taught that rights carry responsibilities. Media coverage is all too often irresponsible.

A new HBO movie, "Taking Chance," offers some valuable perspective on the issue. The movie first aired on Feb. 21 and will continue to air on HBO over the coming weeks. You can view a trailer plus find a link to future telecasts at: http://www.hbo.com/films/takingchance/

The movie is based on the actual experience of Marine Lt. Col. Michael Stroble (played with near-perfect pitch by Kevin Bacon), who volunteered in 2004 to escort the body of a fallen Marine, Lance Cpl. Chance Phelps, home.

Lt. Col. Stroble was already feeling guilty about his safe Pentagon assignment when he spotted Phelps' name on a list of casualties. Noting that they shared a hometown, he volunteered to accompany the body home. What follows is a breathtaking--and heartbreaking--cross country odyssey from the mortuary at Dover (Del.) Air Force Base to a windswept graveside in Dubois, Wyoming.

What struck me most about writer/director/producer Ross Kratz's eloquent film is the dignity with which the military treats its fallen heroes. From battlefield to aid station to mortuary to burial, Phelps is treated with respect, honor, and even love--by those who knew him and those who didn't.

The reactions of ordinary Americans to Lt. Col. Stroble and to Phelps' flag-draped coffin along the way is also instructive. At every turn, they are respectful. Even reverent. Nobody reaches for a camera to take a picture.

As for perspective on the media's obsession with photographing coffins at Dover, "Taking Chance" quietly suggests that the ban is simply in keeping with the solemnity of the occasion.

I was deeply moved by the film--perhaps because my son has recently returned from his second deployment to Iraq. I'm not sure that I could have watched it if he was still in harm's way.

Not everyone agrees with my assessment though. Josh Tyler on CinemaBlend.com dismisses "Taking Chance" as "cloying and desperate." Furthermore, he warns that unless viewers have "ties to the military or an obsession with the burial practices of the Marine Corps" that they will find the film "tedious." You can read his review here: http://www.cinemablend.com/new/Sundance-Review-Taking-Chance-11598.html

On the other hand, Dorothy Rabinowitz, writing in the Wall Street Journal, is effusive in her praise: "flawless," "eloquent," and "exquisitely detailed" are a sample. Read her review here: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123509024004628221.html

But, don't take her word for it. Or Tyler's. Or even mine. Watch and decide for yourself. Prepare to be moved.

You might also want to check out Jim Sheeler's Final Salute, a moving account of the experiences of Marine notification officer Major Steve Beck. See my 2008 review here: http://www.military.com/entertainment/books/book-reviews/military-bookshelf-honoring-heroes

Beck is the guy that no parent, spouse, or child of a Marine, soldier, sailor, or airman wants to see at the door. He might have the toughest job in America. Sheeler, a reporter at Denver's Rocky Mountain News, followed Beck for a year on his lonely odyssey. The result is this poignant and powerful chronicle.