FAQ

The Sergeant in the family room is wearing a U.S. Army Male Enlisted Army Service Uniform (ASU). The light blue trousers have 1.5 inch yellow stripe on the outside seam of each leg.

Taking Chance is based on the experiences of Lt. Col. Michael Strobl. Aided by screenwriter Ross Katz, Strobl wrote the screenplay for this movie.

Although the story is told through the eyes of Lt.Col. Strobl (Kevin Bacon), the story is really about Marine PFC Chance Phelps (1984-2004], who was killed in action in the war in Iraq. Strobl was assigned the duty of an escort, that is, taking Chance's body home to his family.

In every case of a Marine fallen in action and his body being transported home, an escort is assigned to accompany the body and verify the transition every single time the body is moved. It is the escort's duty to assure that neither the body nor any of its personal effects are tampered with, shifted, or confused with another during the transport.

On 9 April, 2004, outside Ar Ramadi, Iraq, Phelp's unit came under heavy small arms fire. Phelps refused evacuation and remained to man his M240 machine gun to cover the evacuation of the rest of his unit. Upon withdrawal, he was fatally shot in the head.