Eddie Ray Routh,a former US Marine reportedly suffering from PTSD,allegedly shot and killed noted Iraq War veteran Chris Kyle,38,and his friend Chad Littlefield at a Texas shooting range Saturday,February 2.Routh was arrested that night after a brief highway chase and arraigned on two counts of capital murder.
Kyle,who served as a US Navy SEAL from 1999-2009,wrote the best-selling "American Sniper:The Autobiography of the Most Lethal Sniper in US Military History" along with Scott McEwen and Jim Defelice.It was published in hardcover last year and in trade paperback on January 29,2013.He is credited with 160 confirmed kills in Iraq,where militants called him "al-Shaitan,"the devil,and put a 20,000 dollar bounty on his head.
In a C-SPAN interview last year,Kyle revealed his mindset.He didn't think of himself as being better than other Navy SEALs or other soldiers generally.It was all a matter of honour.
He got chills and sometimes choked up when the national anthem was played.You're gonna do something for the greater good,Kyle said,for everybody in the country.As a civilian,that's definitely a problem;it's for your own good.This is still the greatest country in the world.
I'm not out there to rack up kills and get these huge numbers.I'd like to be known by how many I saved-not just military,but the Iraqi civilians also.You can't think of the person you're shooting as an actual person.It's unfortunate,but war is hell.It's hit the fan,and we're there to make it stop.I'm just trying to save my guys.
It's doing the right thing at the right time.A lot of math is involved,especially the farther out you go.
I didn't write the book to glorify myself,but those I served with and who are still out there serving.All of my portion of the proceeds are going to the families of the two I lost.Protesters should protest Congress and the President.Leave the military guys alone.They're willing to die for our safety and security.
PTSD is nothing to be looked down on.We need to help them.It's something you have to live with or work around.Just be there for them.Just give them your undying support,Kyle urged.
Kyle achieved the rank of Chief Petty Officer.He was awarded two Silver Stars; five Bronze Stars with Valor;and two Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Awards with V.He fought at Fallujah and Ramadi.Ironically,it was one of his own that brought him down.
"American Sniper" is getting an average rating of about four out of five stars from readers.The paperback is listed at 9.99 new.Another book was reportedly in the works.
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