The Soldier's Sorrow--Comment on Escorting Chance

Corene 2022-03-30 09:01:11

This film reminds me of Wu Nianzhen's "Taiping Heavenly Kingdom": A Sheng and his younger brother went to steal the military supplies of the US military, but they stole back two big iron guys. They thought they had made a fortune, so they opened it and saw two soldiers, one black and one white, lying inside. It turned out that it was the coffin of the US military. Ashen was extremely depressed, but turned to his wife and said: In the future, he will also send his children to the United States, because the soldiers who died there will be placed in iron coffins.

This film reminds me of Wu Nianzhen's "Taiping Heavenly Kingdom": A Sheng and his younger brother went to steal the military supplies of the US military, but they stole back two big iron guys. They thought they had made a fortune, so they opened it and saw two soldiers, one black and one white, lying inside. It turned out that it was the coffin of the US military. Ashen was extremely depressed, but turned to his wife and said: In the future, he will also send his children to the United States, because the soldiers who died there will be placed in iron coffins.


Now, Escort Chance lets us see the entire process of the U.S. military's handling of the remains of fallen soldiers. Oh, it turned out not to be an iron coffin, but an ice-filled coffin to be airlifted back to China. There are special funeral officials to sort out the remains, and every relic and every inch of skin will be carefully wiped. The remains will be examined by X-rays, and specially photographed and archived, and professional logistics personnel will make various styles of military uniforms to replace them. The last, and most important part, is that a military personnel escort the remains back to their hometown. Chance Phelps was an ordinary Marine, First Class, who died in Iraq in 2004 at the age of 20. Later, his fellow countryman, Colonel Mike Strobel, volunteered to escort the coffin back to his hometown. The film shows the journey of Colonel Strobel in every detail. Wherever he goes, people show admiration for the deceased.

However, what I am interested in is not the simplicity of the feelings of the American people, but the strong sense of ritual that the US military has in handling the remains. Every time he saw a coffin, whether in a funeral home or in an airport luggage storage, Colonel Strobel gave a slow salute. Among the items he carried, in addition to Chance's relics, there was also a letter from the platoon leader of Chance to his parents (in fact, two military personnel had come to the door to tell them the bad news), and the military also considered Chance Their parents have been divorced, so they specially prepared two national flags for each of them! When Chance was buried, almost all the people in the town came to see him off, and even Boy Scouts lined up in the cemetery to greet him. All of this, for an ordinary, only 20-year-old first class soldier, it can be described as a great honor. Even if he is not great in life, he can be called the glory of death. I don't know if every American soldier who died in action would receive this honor. But given that the film is based on Colonel Strobel's own diary, these things are mostly true. Moreover, it seems that Chance's parents are ordinary people, so his funeral should not be special, everything is done according to regulations and standards. So, I want to say, the most important, the most important point: the system is the most fundamental guarantee! No matter how sincere the feelings of ordinary people are, if they are not educated and nurtured thousands of times, I am afraid they will not be so conscious. One of the most touching scenes in the film is that on the highway, many motorists turned on their headlights to mourn after seeing the special hearse that transported the remains of the US military, and lined up to slowly escort them, becoming a unique scenery in the desert. . But if you hadn't seen such a scene many times, how could people suddenly recognize that it was a hearse carrying soldiers' bodies? In the final analysis, it is the strict system of the U.S. military that has cultivated such a highly conscious and civilized people.

Almost all people who have seen this film will think of their own country. Some people reflect on why we can't make such a harmonious and thematic film? Others discuss what we should do with the remains of our own soldiers. Yeah, I've lived in this country for decades, watched countless formal and informal military education films, and never knew how our military handles soldiers' funerals. But then again, what about ordinary people, not just soldiers? Thinking about "Lian Lian Shi", and thinking of the incident that the Nanjing traffic police casually treated the remains of the victims of the car accident, which was exposed on the Internet some time ago, I am afraid that we need to work hard, not a little bit.

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Extended Reading
  • Monty 2022-04-23 07:05:39

    The main theme of the United States, but the level is much higher than that of the chicken country

  • Tyler 2022-03-31 09:01:09

    Why are the main themes of the United States so touching~ Tears. Chance is really sunny

Taking Chance quotes

  • 1st Lt. Dan Robertson (Chance Phelp's platoon commander): [voiceover, from his 09 April 2004 letter to the Phelps family] It's ironic, but I am certain that if the world had more men like Chance Phelps, there wouldn't be a need for a Marine Corps.

  • LtCol Mike Strobl: [voiceover] Chance Phelps was wearing his St. Christopher medal when he was killed on Good Friday. Eight days later, I handed the medallion to his mother. I watched them carry him the final fifteen yards. I felt that as long as he was still moving, he was somehow still alive. When they put him down in his grave, he'd stopped moving. I didn't know Chance Phelps before he died. But today, I miss him.