Biography

Chris was shot and killed while on an outing with 25-year-old Eddie Ray Routh, an Iraq/Afghanistan veteran struggling with PTSD. The three were at a gun range when Routh reportedly shot Chris and another person in the back. Routh was arrested in Lancaster, Texas after a brief chase in Kyle's stolen truck. Routh was sentenced to life in prison without parole in February 2015. Chris Kyle was awarded two Silver Stars and five Bronze Stars with Valor. He leaves behind a wife and two children.

He once said that, if ever a film were made about him, he would only want Clint Eastwood to direct it and no one else. Eastwood later directed American Sniper (2014), a biopic about Chris Kyle's life and military service.

Former Navy Seal sniper.

Awarded 2 Silver Stars and 5 Bronze Star medals.

He had originally intended to sign up for the U.S. Marine Corps but the Marine recruiter was out to lunch and so he ended up joining the Navy SEALS instead.

I don't have to psych myself up, or do something special mentally - I look through the scope, get my target in the cross hairs, and kill my enemy, before he kills one of my people.

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.

It's not a problem taking out someone who wants your people dead. That's not a problem at all.

War is hell. Hollywood fantasizes about it and makes it look good... war sucks.

I'm trying to raise the awareness of the troops that, when they deploy and go to war, it's not just them at war - it's also their family. Their family is having to go through all the hardships and the stresses.