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Christopher Scott "Chris" Kyle (April 8, 1974 – February 2, 2013) was a United States Navy SEAL sniper. He served four tours in the Iraq War and was awarded several commendations for acts of heroism and meritorious service in combat. He had 160 confirmed kills. He was awarded one Silver Star Medal, four Bronze Star Medals with "V" devices, a Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal, and numerous other unit and personal awards.

Kyle was honorably discharged from the U.S. Navy in 2009, and published his bestselling autobiography, American Sniper, in 2012. An eponymous film adaptation of Kyle's book, directed by Clint Eastwood, was released two years later. In 2013, Kyle was murdered by Eddie Ray Routh at the Rough Creek Lodge shooting range near Chalk Mountain, Texas. A former Marine with post-traumatic stress disorder, Routh was found guilty and sentenced to life in prison without parole.

Biography

Christopher Scott Kyle was born in 1974 in Odessa, the eldest of two boys. His father bought Kyle his first rifle at the age of eight, a bolt-action .30-06 Springfield rifle, and later a shotgun, with which they hunted deer, pheasant, and quail. Kyle and his brother grew up raising up to 150 head of cattle at a time. Kyle attended high school in Texas, and after graduating in 1992 became a professional bronco rodeo rider and ranch hand, but his professional rodeo career ended abruptly when he severely injured his arm. He attended Tarleton State University for two years, studying Ranch and Range Management.

After joining the Navy SEALs in 2001, Kyle fought in the Iraq War during which he served in many major battles. During the initial invasion, he gained his first long-range kill after sniping a female terrorist who was about to blow up his fellow soldiers with a grenade.

Kyle was such a deadly sniper that the insurgents he was fighting nicknamed him "the Devil of Ramadi" while fellow soldiers called him "the Legend". He served four tours of duty in Iraq and survived them all, though he was shot twice and caught in six different IED explosions. In his book American Sniper, Kyle refused to verify the number of people he killed but it was at least 160. His awards included four Bronze Stars, a Rifle Marksmanship Medal and a Silver Star.

Following the war, Kyle published American Sniper, his autobiography. This book later led to him being sued for defamation: he wrote a sub-chapter in which he described punching a man named "Scruff Face" for insulting dead soldiers and claimed that the character was Governor of Minnesota Jesse Ventura. Ventura sued Kyle, eventually reaching a settlement following his death.

On February 2, 2013, Kyle and his friend Chad Littlefield took a mentally ill and traumatised veteran named Eddie Ray Routh to a shooting range in Texas. During the ride over, Kyle texted Littlefield to say that "This guy [Routh] is crazy". Littlefield replied "Watch my six". Shortly after, Routh became frustrated that neither man would talk to him and shot them both dead. He was convicted of murder and sentenced to life without parole.

Sculptor Greg Marra created a memorial statue of Kyle for presentation to his widow. Fundraising for production of the statue was provided by members of the Tea Party movement.

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