Michael Strobl

Early life Michael Strobl was born in 1966 in Grand Junction, Colorado. He enlisted in the United States Marine Corps in 1983, at age 17. he was deployed to both Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, serving in both the 13th and 15th Marine Expeditionary Units. He served as an artillery platoon commander with the 11th Marines, battery commander with the 12th Marines, and Battalion Operations Officer and Regimental Fire Direction Officer with the 10th Marines. a Marine killed in the Iraq War on April 9, 2004, outside Ar Ramadi, Iraq.

At the time, Strobl assigned to the Combat Development Command in Quantico, working as Marine Corps manpower analyst. After reading a Department of Defense press release about Phelps’ death, which listed Clifton, Colorado, as his hometown—a suburb of Strobl’s own hometown of Grand Junction—Strobl volunteered to escort Phelps’ remains from Dover Air Force Base in Delaware to their final resting place. However, Phelps had only lived in Clifton for his senior year of high school. His final destination and resting place would be Dubois, Wyoming, where he spent his early childhood.

During the trip, Strobl kept a diary of his experience. After returning home, he wrote an essay from the notes in the diary and shared it with Phelps' father, John. Strobl's 12-page narrative essay followed his journey with the remains of Lance Corporal Phelps from the military mortuary at Dover Air Force Base to Philadelphia, Minneapolis, Billings, Riverton, and Dubois. With the approval of John Phelps, a condensed version of the essay appeared in the San Francisco Chronicle on May 2, 2004, titled "A Marine's Journey Home". Subsequently, a longer version of the essay appeared in the July 2004 issue of Marine Corps Gazette as "Taking Chance".

Strobl's essay was the basis for the 2009 HBO film, Taking Chance. Strobl was portrayed in the film by Kevin Bacon. Strobl, along with the film's director, Ross Katz, wrote the screenplay for the film. Subsequently, he and Katz won the Writers Guild of America Award in Long Form Adaptation in Television at the Writers Guild of America Awards 2009 and were nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Miniseries, Movie, or a Dramatic Special.

Decorations and awards

Navy and Marine Corps Commendation MedalCombat Action RibbonNavy Unit CommendationNational Defense Service Medal w/ 1 service starSouthwest Asia Service MedalSea Service Deployment Ribbon w/ 2 service starsKuwait Liberation Medal (Saudi Arabia)Kuwait Liberation Medal (Kuwait)

Strobl received the Vietnam Veterans of America President's Award for Excellence in the Arts at the organization's national convention in Louisville, Kentucky, in August 2009.