A very interesting read. I'm having trouble getting through it.
The casket of Marine Pfc. Chance Phelps is taken to the cemetery in a horse-drawn carriage driven by Robin Wiltshire on April 17, 2004 in Dubois, Wyo. Photo courtesy of Sarah Beth Barnett/Casper Star-Tribune
Taking Chance Home
U.S. Marine Corps Pfc. Chance Phelps, 19, died April 9, 2004, from hostile fire in Al Anbar Province, Iraq. He was assigned to 3rd Battalion, 11th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division. He was buried in Dubois, Wyoming on April 17, 2004. The below story was written by Lt. Col. Mike Strobl, assigned to Manpower Management Officer Assignments at Marine Corps Base Quantico, who volunteered to be the escort officer for Pfc. Phelps during his journey home. Lt. Col. Strobl's mission as escort officer was to ensure Pfc. Phelps arrived home with dignity and honor and in a professional and timely manner.
Chance Phelps was wearing his Saint Christopher medal when he was killed on Good Friday. Eight days later, I handed the medallion to his mother. I didn’t know Chance before he died. Today, I miss him.
Over a year ago, I volunteered to escort the remains of Marines killed in Iraq should the need arise. The military provides a uniformed escort for all casualties to ensure they are delivered safely to the next of kin and are treated with dignity and respect along the way.
Thankfully, I hadn’t been called on to be an escort since Operation Iraqi Freedom began. The first few weeks of April, however, had been a tough month for the Marines. On the Monday after Easter I was reviewing Department of Defense press releases when I saw that a Private First Class Chance Phelps was killed in action outside of Baghdad. The press release listed his hometown-the same town I’m from. I notified our Battalion adjutant and told him that, should the duty to escort PFC Phelps fall to our Battalion, I would take him.