europe. where they re then packed in ice again and flown to dover air force base. dover takes care of the remains, embalms them, meticulously dresses them in their uniform with the medals that they have earned, the emblems of their service and puts them on another airplane linked up with the casualty officer escort that takes them home. a very, very good movie to watch is taking chance if you haven t seen it. where this is done in a movie, hbo setting. chance phelps was killed under my command next to me. it s worth seeing that if you have never seen it. that s the process. while that is happening, a casualty officer typically goes to the home very early in the morning and waits for the first lights to come on. then he knocks on the door. typically the mom and dad will answer. wife.
the point is the phone call is made to the the next of kin only if the next of kin agrees to take the phone call. sometimes they don t. so a pre-call is made. the president of the united states or the com daunt command the marines will you accept the call. he called four people and expressed his condolences in the best way he could and said to me, what do i say? i said to him, sir, there s nothing you can do to lighten the burden on these families. but let me tell you what i tell them. let me tell you what my best friend joe dunford told me, because he was my casualty officer. he said, kel, he was doing exactly what he wanted to do when he was killed.
have not seen it. that s the process. while that s happening, a casualty officer typically goes to the home very early in the morning and waits for the first lights to come on, and then he knocks on the door. typically the mom and dad who answer, the wife. if there is a wife, this is happening in two different places. if the parents are divorced, three different places. and the casualty officer proceeds to break the heart of a family member. and stays with that family until well, for a long, long time, even after the internment. so that s what happens. who are these young men and women? they are the best 1% of this country produces. most of you, as americans, don t know them. many of you don t know anyone who knows anyone of them, but they are the best this country produces, and the volunteer
condolences in the best way that he could. and he said to me, what do i say? i said to him, sir, there s nothing you can do to lighten the burden on these families. but let me tell you what i tell them. let me tell you what my best friend told me, he was my casualty officer. she said, kel, he was doing exactly what he wanted to do when he was killed. he knew what he was getting into by joining that 1%. he knew what the possibilities were because we re at war. and when he died, in the four cases we re talking about niger, my son in afghanistan, he was surrounded by the best men on this earth, his friends. that s what the president tried to say to four families the
i said to him, sir, there s nothing you can do to lighten the burden on these families. but let me tell you what i tell them. let me tell you what my best friend joe dunford told me, because he was my casualty officer. he said, kel, he was doing exactly what he wanted to do when he was killed. he knew what he was getting into by joining the, that 1%. he knew what the possibilities were, because we re at war. and when he died and the four cases we re talking about niger, and my son s case in afghanistan, when he died he was surrounded by the best men on this earth. his friends. that s what the president tried to say to a, to four families the other day. i was stunned when i came to