Chris Kyle, the man famed for his impeccable military record which was documented in the book and film, American Sniper, may have distorted his medal count according to documents.
In his book Kyle writes, ‘All told. I would end my career as a SEAL with two Silver Stars and five Bronze [Stars], all for valor.’, but now according to Navy documents, Kyle only earned one Silver Star and three Bronze Stars with Valor.
In an exclusive article and investigation by The Intercept, who obtained the records, they spoke with numerous Navy Seals whom Kyle had known from his military days.
None of those interviewed questioned Kyle’s bravery and heroism, but they felt by glossing up his record it was somewhat dishonourable.
Apparently Kyle was told at least once before the book was published to change his military record to represent his actual record, but he failed to do so.
A spokesperson for the Navy Personnel Command said:
The Navy considers the individual service member’s official military personnel file and our central official awards records to be the authoritative sources for verifying entitlement to decorations and awards.
It was in Kyle’s individual service member’s official military personnel file that The Intercept found Kyle’s record to be significantly smaller than he had boasted in his book.
Kyle was a United States Navy SEAL veteran with the most sniper kills in U.S. military history, with at least 160 kills officially confirmed by the Department of Defense.
In February, 2013, Kyle was tragically shot on a Texas shooting range with a friend by Eddie Ray Routh who had been suffering for numerous years from post traumatic stress disorder.
