Last Friday, while
speaking at the Texans Veterans of Foreign Affairs Convention, Governor Greg
Abbott declared February 2, 2015 Chris Kyle Day in honor of one of the most
decorated snipers in American history.
“In honor of a Texas son, a Navy SEAL and an American hero—a man
who defended his brothers and sisters in arms on and off the battlefield—I am
declaring February 2nd Chris Kyle Day in Texas. We will commemorate his
passing, but more importantly, remember his answering of the call of duty,”
Abbott said.
Today marks the second anniversary of Kyle’s death at the Rough
Creek Lodge in Glen Rose, TX where he and friend Chad Littlefield were gunned
down while trying to help a fellow soldier coping with PTSD.
Friend and co-blogger, Proof, posted a great article here at PCP after he had
gone to see the now indisputable box office smash American Sniper. According
to Screen
Crush,
the movie has grossed over $248.9M since its opening on January 16, 2015.
Last Friday, I took the opportunity to see the movie. It was explosive and sorrowful. I sat still throughout the film reacting only
at the end when director Clint Eastwood included video clips of the 10-mile
long funeral procession that traveled the 200 miles from Midlothian to Austin
where Chief Petty Officer Chris Kyle would be laid to rest. Thousands lined the route on a cold, rainy
day to pay their respects as the white hearse carrying his remains drove past.
Eastwood made certain that moviegoers knew unequivocally that
Chris Kyle was a man of faith by showing the importance of the little Bible he
tucked into his flak jacket for each of his four tours of duty.
The
Bible makes several appearances in the film.
In the book, Kyle wrote, “I’d carried a Bible with me. I hadn’t read it all that much, but it had
always been with me.” At one point in
the film, Kyle tells his C.O. that he doesn’t know what a Qur’an looks like.
But he can spot a Bible, and he knows what’s important about it without bothering
to find out what it says.
Eastwood’s use of the image of the little Bible was a powerful
testament to who Chris Kyle was. When he
was learning to hunt, his dad scolded him to never leave his gun in the dirt. The last image we see of his final tour in
Iraq shows both his gun and the little Bible left behind in the dirt as a
choking sandstorm overtakes the landscape.
At the end of the film, everyone sat motionless, gathering themselves
after seeing the horror of war and the mental torment it inflicts on our brave
warriors. Everyone filed out of the
auditorium in perfect silence. They were
thinking what I was thinking: That such
men lived.
“I consider it an indispensible duty to
close this last solemn act of my official life by commending the interests of
our dearest country to the protection of Almighty God and those who have the
superintendence of them into his Holy keeping.” — General George Washington at Valley Forge
