I don’t think there’s any way you can predict how someone will react to the news that their husband or son or friend has been killed in Iraq.  When you send someone you love off to war, you say goodbye with the knowledge that they may never come home again.  You hope and pray that they will be safe, but you never really know.   When that knock on the door comes and you suddenly find yourself a widow or the mother of a son who will never come home again, life changes forever. 

One family of a Marine killed in Iraq has taken that sorrow and turned it into something positive.  Lance Corporeal Chance Phelps was a Marine with 3^rd Battalion, 11^th Marines, out of Twentynine Palms, California.  When his unit was ambushed in the Anbar province of Iraq on April 9, 2004, Chance manned a machine gun and returned enemy fire.  Though his unit fought its way out of the ambush, Chance was killed in the firefight.   He was 19 years old. 

After his death, Chance’s family put together a group of friends to run the 2004 Marine Corps Marathon in Chance’s honor.  They asked for sponsors to donate $1 for every mile they ran.  With the money they raised they started the Chance R. Phelps Foundation.  The foundation’s first act was to purchase much needed binoculars for military members serving in Iraq.  The group continues to participate in events around the world to raise money to donate to charities that improve the quality of life for those who serve in the military, especially those currently serving in or who have served in Operation Iraqi Freedom. 

On February 12, 2007 Chance’s mother and sister began the Walk for Chance, a more than 1,500 mile walk from Twentynine Palms, California to Chance’s hometown and his final resting place of Dubois, Wyoming.  Their goal is to raise $1 million for the Fisher House and the Semper Fi fund.  They are expected to arrive in Dubois on Memorial Day weekend.   

There is no way to know how anyone will react to the news that all military families dread.  But the strength of Chance’s family and their continuing dedication to those who serve is a truly inspiring example of those qualities that the Marine Corps holds dear:  honor, courage and commitment.  It is an incredible way to honor a fallen hero. 

You can read about their walk and the work of the Chance Phelps Foundation on their website:  run4chance.com.