The Patriot Post® · Sniping American Heroes

I still remember the plaque I saw while reporting on a story at Ft. Benning, Georgia: “From the Captain to the cook, whoever is the best shot is the sniper.”

Historically, snipers have not been the favorite warrior among their band of brothers. They hide. From nowhere, they kill – without warning.

But is not “all fair in love and war?”

Chris Kyle knew both. He was among the best, the deadliest, and now, perhaps the best known, sniper in American history. You may have heard of the blockbuster movie, directed by Clint Eastwood, “American Sniper.”

The Texas native served four tours of duty in Iraq, racking up an unprecedented 160 confirmed kills (undoubtedly there were more) during his career as a Navy Seal.

In his book, he admitted “I loved what I did, I still do, if circumstances were different – if my family didn’t need me – I’d be back in a heartbeat.”

The left has jumped on “American Sniper” with a vengeance.

Bill Maher, on HBO’s Real Time, says Chris Kyle was a “psychopath patriot.”

Michael Moore says snipers “were cowards” who would shoot people in the back, given the chance.

But his deadly skills gave Marines and Army units a chance. Acting as the point of the spear, Kyle and others like him protected units in forward positions and cleared hellholes such as Ramadi and Fallujah – a favorite target was those who planted IEDs as American forces advanced.

One insurgent, dancing while he believed he was out of range at 21-hundred yards (roughly better than one and a quarter mile), was fatally mistaken. He became a record shot for Kyle, now among the confirmed kills.

Kyle was so feared a bounty was placed on his head, calling him the “Devil of Ramadi” – despite rules of engagement that he followed to the letter that undoubtedly left targets untouched.

But he was loved at home – first by his wife Taya, his son and daughter, and thousands of appreciative Americans who knew his story – and second by the hundreds of servicemen who served with him and firmly believed he had “saved my a–”.

Kyle did not consider himself a hero, but simply a member of the military doing his job.

He left after four tours to return to his family, start a security company dedicated to law enforcement, and help fellow veterans who suffered from PTSD.

It was during an outing with one such veteran on the shooting range he and another were shot and killed. The outpouring of support along his funeral route is still regarded with awe in Texas.

Some have said his wife, who has made three million in dollars from their story, has given too little to veteran causes.

But Chris Kyle gave years of his life to a fight saving fellow warriors. He lost comrades in a struggle now being downgraded and minimized by the current administration, a withdrawal that now leaves the Iraqi people facing new terrors through ISIS and others. Chris Kyle gave his life trying to help a sick brother who suffered the horrors of war.

He gave up being a SEAL to be home with his family.

A family now without a soul mate, without a father.

Is that not enough?

He says “People try to put me in a category as a bad-ass, a good ol’ boy, a–hole, sniper, SEAL, and probably other categories not appropriate for print. All may be true on a given day. In the end, my story, in Iraq and afterward, is about more than just killing people or even fighting for my country. It’s about being a man. And it’s about love as well as hate.”

I cannot help but believe that, on that day we all meet together where there is no war, Clint will walk up to this Texan and tell him “You made my day – thank you.”

I hope to do so as well.