The lessons that I learned from watching this movie range from things every day average people notice to the small details that no one ever notices. This movie shows how much respect most American people have for the troops that give up their lives for the country. American troops give up their time with family, with loved ones, enjoying hobbies, and sometimes even their lives. They give up these four things and many others so regular people like you and I have the privilege of living freely and peacefully in this great country. Our troops do not accept fame or glory. They do not show off or gloat about the services they have performed.  Average people would not be able to tell what people were soldiers and which ones were not out of a crowd of people if those individuals were not in uniform. These people do not get noticed for their service enough. There are so many people around our community that are veterans that unknown to many people and that is a true shame.

During the movie it was incredible how many people PFC Chance Phelps had touched. He changed every body’s day and life and he never even knew. All the people that saw Chance being taken home showed their respects and showed Chance the respect he deserved for putting his life on the line for his country and his comrades. These people had never even heard of or seen Chance before in their lives but they still stop and remember him showing him how much he meant to each and every one of them and that is just incredible to me.

On the day that Chance died he was working on his day off. He was not even supposed to be on duty but he knew that his fellow troops needed him and he would not let them down. They put their lives on the line every time they put on that uniform. He was always out in the open and that was the job he always wanted to do. When they were attacked all of the troops started to panic. Chance started to fire to draw the ambushers away from the rest of the troops so they could regroup and in the process his life was taken. On that day he showed the type of courage that only certain men have. He directed all the fire towards himself on a day he was not supposed to be working, but it makes you think… If he had not been there on duty that day how many casualties would there have been? He most likely saved dozens of lives sacrificing his own.

After Chance had died and was being loaded onto the plane to come back to the country the soldiers preparing for the trip made sure each one of the flags around the soldiers was perfectly wrapped. When Chance was being cleaned and all of his items were being cleaned as well, the people made sure everything was perfect. When checking Chance’s uniform before the funeral, Mike noted that the people preparing his body knew that he was not going to be viewed but they still made sure his uniform was absolutely perfect. It is important that these soldiers be treated with the same respect when they pass as when they are living.

All veteran, young and old, past and present, no matter what their skin color or nationality, deserve to be treated with perfect respect living and passed away. They all fought for our country and all put their life on the line, some of them were fortunate enough to walk away from it but others had a more tragic ending. I am ever grateful for all the American troops that have ever put their life on the line for the country and the people that thrive in it.