Escorting a dead Marine in his journey home

[Niner]

Here is a story that will touch the coldest heart I'd think. It was written by Lt. Col. Mike Strobl USMC, and is an account of his escort duty in taking the body of Pfc Chance Phelps home to his family. This story is supposed to be turned into a HBO movie soon.

http://www.nea.gov/national/homecoming/ ... trobl.html

[DuncaninFrance]

Interesting read, thanks.

[Rayber]

This is a...beautiful isn't the right word, griping.....nice ...story. I joined the forum to post here. I have other interests here also but this post made it important to sign up. The Marine did his job well. I did not see that he was a Lt.Col until after reading the whole piece. It sounded like it was the heart of a Sargent...a Master Sargent maybe. "A Marine is a Marine no matter what his rank". Good Job Marine.

I am a retired Navy Hospital Corpsman. I am not a 8404 FMF grunt corpsman. I did 2-9 month tours in 'Nam with the NAVY Seabee's. MCB5 out of Port Hueneme,Ca. If you rode on a blacktop road between DaNang and Que, we put it there. The 2nd tour we built a River boat repair facility in the Delta but it was totally destroyed 2 or 3 weeks after we left.

I grew up in the Navy,(Navy Brat) I lived on or close to Navy bases my whole life (until I retired) The Marines were always there. George Washington had his Marines and his loblolly boys, later to be Hospital Corpsman. My history is the Marine history. The dude putting the flag in the ground at Iwo is a 2nd class Hospital Corpsman. It was his doing that became the National Monument. In my will, I have asked that a Marine, any Marine but a SHARP Marine be at my grave site. I don't want the SLOW salute. If you respect me, give me a hard salute and I will rest easy knowing I have a US Marine watching over me.

The troops in 'Nam where not supported. I was asked if I had ever killed any babies on a fight home...... I was told to change from my greens into civilian cloths before I got to the US. I put on my Dress Uniform. I was not ashamed of being who I was.

Thanks for posting this story. Support our kids. We need to finish what we started however foolish it was to start, help the people and get home in one piece.

[Niner]

Speaking of Vietnam, I remember wearing my dress Army greens through the airport in Seattle at the end of 1970 on the way home from Vietnam. A young woman came up to me and looked me in the eye and spit in my face. Different war and different times.

Not all of todays warriors who fall in foreign lands while in service to their country get the kind of respect they and , more importantly, their families deserve at the finial ceremony.

An old Army Infantry soldier I know, from my battalion in Vietnam, has taken up riding his Harley in support of families who must bury their young men, and I guess women too now days, who died in service. He and different groups of Patriot Guards act as a non violent wall between families and any protesters upon request of families. He says he has seen very few protesters...thankfully. But it is a hell of a note that such things happen at all.

http://www.patriotguard.org/

[Aughnanure]

Very moving, thanks.

When I returned from Korea the Battallion marched in Brisbane and Sydney and we were cheered by large crowds.

When my mates returned from Vietnam and marched in Sydney the crowd was not quite as large and as they passed the Town Hall a girl ran in front of the parade and threw blood on the Colonel.

It says much for the discipline of the soldiers that no one broke ranks.

[Niner]

It will be shown tonight on HBO and stars Kevin Bacon.