Dallas --A generation of those in the
military have served grueling tours of duty in Afghanistan and Iraq since the
9/11 attacks, but few have gripped the country's conscience in the way Chris
Kyle has.
In the autobiography that inspired the
blockbuster film "American Sniper," Kyle wrote that his work on
Iraqi battlefields earned him the nickname "Legend."
That's what those fighting with Kyle called
him. His enemies used another nickname. They dubbed him "al-Shaitan
Ramad," or the Devil of Ramadi, indicating the fear a man can instill in
his foes when he's capable of taking out a target from a distance of almost 1.2
miles.
Of course, he wasn't the only sniper engaged
in those epic battles of the Iraq War, but the legend of Kyle resonates with a
wide American audience.
Not only did his autobiography spend weeks on
best-seller lists, but the Clint Eastwood-directed film, which has earned six
Oscar nominations, including best picture, has shattered
the box-office record for a war movie, previously held by "Saving
Private Ryan."
Man behind legend
Despite all the talk of war's complications,
Kyle's view of the Iraq War was unapologetically simplistic.
"I wanted to go to war. I signed up to
protect this country. I do not choose the wars. It happens that I love to
fight," he wrote in his autobiography.
After completing four tours of duty in Iraq
with at least 160 confirmed sniper kills, Kyle said he never
had regrets about plying his deadly trade. Even if he had to take out a
woman cradling a toddler -- as he reportedly did on his first sniper assignment
-- he had no qualms pulling the trigger if it saved the lives of the Marines
whom he was charged with protecting.
"It was my duty to shoot and I don't
regret it," Kyle wrote in his book. "After the first kill, the others
come easy. I don't have to psych myself up, or do anything special
mentally."
As a Navy SEAL, Kyle fought in some of the
Iraq War's most vicious battles, including Falluja, Ramadi and Sadr City, and
while 160 was his tally of confirmed kills, he had 95 probable kills that
couldn't be verified.
His reputation for taking out insurgents
resulted in an $80,000 bounty being placed on his head during the war.
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