Chance Phelps Chance Russell Phelps ( July 14 , 1984 – April 9 , 2004 ) was a Private First Class – posthumously promoted to Lance Corporal – in the United States Marine Corps who served with 2nd Platoon , Battery L , 3rd Battalion , 11th Marine Regiment ( 3 / 11 ) , 1st Marine Division , I Marine Expeditionary Force , during Operation Iraqi Freedom . Phelps was killed in Iraq as the convoy he was escorting came under heavy fire . His story is the subject of an HBO movie , " Taking Chance . " Biography . Phelps was born in Riverton , Wyoming , moved to Craig , Colorado as a young boy , and then again to Clifton , Colorado where he graduated from Palisade High School in 2003 . He was motivated to join the Marines by the events of September 11 , 2001 . After attending recruit training at MCRD San Diego , he attended artillery school at Fort Sill , Oklahoma . He was finally assigned to 3 / 11 , with which he deployed in February 2004 . Death . Phelps was killed in action at approximately 13 : 30 on April 9 , 2004 ( Good Friday ) , outside Ar Ramadi , Iraq . Phelps ' s unit was conducting convoy escort ( including the assistant commander of the 1st Marine Division , Brigadier General John F . Kelly ) when they came under heavy small arms fire , including rocket - propelled grenade s . Despite being wounded , he refused to be evacuated , and instead manned his M240 machine gun ( also reported to have been a M2 . 50 caliber machine gun ) to cover the evacuation of the rest of his convoy . Upon withdrawal , he sustained his fatal wound to the head . Honors . Phelps was buried in Dubois , Wyoming on April 17 , 2004 . His remains were escorted home by LtCol Michael Strobl , whose accounts of the escort were recorded in an article he wrote entitled " " Taking Chance " " . In attendance were his parents , stepparents , sister , the Chief of Naval Intelligence ( for whom his sister was an aide ) , and every veterans organization within . Several days later , a memorial service was held in Camp Ramadi , Iraq , by his unit . Some time after that , Chance was officially awarded a posthumous promotion to Lance Corporal . Approximately the same time , a baseball field constructed in Camp Ramadi was dedicated " Phelps Field " . In mid - 2005 , a mess hall at Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms was dedicated " Phelps Hall " , with his citation posted on a boulder in front . Phelps is also memorialized by a rock garden at the 3 / 11 office and at the Dubois VFW post , as well as a plaque that travels with Battery L wherever it deploys and a battery mascot named after the Marine . Awards . Phelps ' s awards include : Media attention . Phelps was the subject of a video segment originally broadcast on the " News Hour with Jim Lehrer " on April 20 , 2004 : entitled " A Fallen Son . " PBS ran a segment on Phelps ' s journey home as part of their Operation Homecoming documentary in the " America at Crossroads " series on April 16 , 2007 . Taking Chance . An HBO movie based on LtCol Strobl ' s essay " Taking Chance " screened at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival and competed for the Grand Jury prize in the category of drama . The script was also written by LtCol Strobl and filming completed in the fall of 2007 , and premiered on February 21 , 2009 . Actor Kevin Bacon plays the lead role of LtCol Strobl . " Taking Chance " is directed by Ross Katz ( producer of " Lost in Translation " ) . The story of Chance Phelps , as told by LtCol Strobl , is also featured in the book " Faces of Freedom " , published in 2007 .