Taking Chance

A few months ago my husband told me he had watched an HBO movie called Taking Chance.
He thought it was very good, and he recommended it to me with some reservations. It is a movie about a military escort for a young man killed in Iraq.
When I watched it, I was amazed at the care and honor given the young soldier who died in war. Details of how his body was handled at Dover AFB and then put on its journey home for burial were fascinating. How those soldiers at the morgue cared for their fallen comrades, and with such tenderness and respect. Kevin Bacon stars as the military escort, and he does a beautiful job of showing the difficult tasks of that position. From one vehicle to another, from plane to plane, the young soldier is given the greatest respect.
I remember the young escort that our family had. I don't know how far he had accompanied Donn. I do know that he was a kind and gentle person who helped our family go through the tragedy. I wonder if every Vietnam casualty was given the extraordinary care that the soldier in Taking Chance was given. There were so many casualties from Vietnam.....Could there possibly have been that much consideration for every one?
Soldiers who returned from Vietnam were not given respect at that time. I was asked by a veteran to sign his book, "Welcome Home." He said that is what VN vets want to hear...at long last.