Avatar feed
Responses: 41
Sgt Infantryman
54
54
0
First, his book is in the fiction isle. Second, he has a navy cross, silver star, and three bronze stars. He also has 160 confirmed kills. Lastly, he is dead and cannot defend himself. People need to get a life.
(54)
Comment
(0)
PO1 Pj Gabe
PO1 Pj Gabe
8 y
So we can attack a deceased warrior, but GOD forbid we address the stolen valor idiots out there, it might hurt their feelings
(2)
Reply
(0)
Capt Kevin Kinkade
Capt Kevin Kinkade
8 y
I rarely interject into blog debates, but this one caught my eye. I have no doubt that Chris and many other military members have done some amazing things. I also know that many awards are inflated and based more on solid writing skills than actual evidence, so I would hesitate to quote an award as proof; more troubling is that many more valiant actions go unrecorded. America needs its hero stories, and as far as I'm concerned almost anyone who willingly risks their life in combat deserves our appreciation. Yes, too many of these stories these days are focused on the Hollywood brand of Special Operations, but that is life. Hopefully we don't do it for the medals, body counts, books or movies. The further I step away from the military the more perspective I gain about what is actually important and worth debating, and this probably is not it.
(3)
Reply
(0)
Capt Kevin Kinkade
Capt Kevin Kinkade
8 y
One follow up... You know what I do appreciate about the SEAL community compared to others? ... They back each other up. When a brother gets killed, they tell his family he died bravely, regardless if it was due to his failure to anticipate the enemy or plan contingencies. You can call that inflating stories or lying; but in reality half the time when things go really bad nobody knows what happened anyways because everyone is dead. I'd rather see a bunch of falsely heroic war stories turning to movies so that Americans appreciate the sacrifices of many, than to see military units that hang their own out to dry for political reasons (i.e. The MARSOC 7).
(1)
Reply
(0)
LCDR Jeremy Huff
LCDR Jeremy Huff
8 y
His DD-214 actually states the awards he confirmed plus an additional Bronze Star he was not accounting for. This is just another hit job of the destructive progressives in the media, Pentagon, and government. You have to love the new post-constitutional Amerika. Destroying/ fundamentally transforming every good and turning evil to good....
(1)
Reply
(0)
Avatar small
CPT Mark Gonzalez
22
22
0
Edited 8 y ago
I am sick of it. Pick on the ones who are alive and can respond. There is a difference and fine line between ensuring integrity and being a professional troll. If you really care that much if a confirmed hero has four of and not five of a particular award, well in my opinion you are a loser.

Mitigating circumstances. The guy is dead. Even in the modern era the records are not 100%. Maybe he forgot or maybe it is based on documentation that you are not privy to. And the #1 factor, get a life. Go focus on people that give you reasonable suspicion and not just every hero in existence.
(22)
Comment
(0)
PO3 Donald Murphy
PO3 Donald Murphy
8 y
True but it's like running for office. I will never run for office because if I do, I understand that "my closet" will be inspected and any skeletons in it, will become public record. And I don't necessarily want people knowing tons of stuff about my successes, failures, etc.

Chris sadly, was not a quiet, un-assuming guy. He was larger than life and sought the public eye. Whether that was intentional to garner traffic for a post-career business endeavor or not, is debatable. Were he to have been one of those fade-in-to-the-night heroes that does their duty and then gets out after war and leads a quiet life, we'd be outraged at negative publicity (Eugene Vallencia - prime example).

But when you come in to the media full guns blazing, then you have to accept that there will be good stories as well as possibly bad. That's common fare for any celebrity. Its sad that the victim in this case is a hero, but again, it's not uncommon behavior for the media.
(2)
Reply
(0)
SPC Tony Bucaro
SPC Tony Bucaro
8 y
I couldn't agree more with you Sir!!! HOOAH!!
(2)
Reply
(0)
Avatar small
LTC Yinon Weiss
14
14
0
Edited 8 y ago
Normally I would agree with you as Chris Kyle did many heroic things and served our nation well -- none of the lies take away from that. However Chris Kyle lied about so many things in his life, this was bound to happen. His lies were well known within the community, but ironically nobody wanted to speak out while he was alive because of the damage it could cause to the military in general. A significant amount of his stories were either made up or exaggerated beyond recognition. It goes far beyond medals. He lied about operations that never happened and personal stories of heroics; all well known in the community. Speaking the truth is not a "gotcha" game -- whatever happened to integrity? I really wish this was not the case, but we can honor him for what he actually did, and at the same time not ignore the truth either.

Check out this link for a brief summary of some of his extravagant lies: https://www.truthorfiction.com/chris-kyle-shot-looters-carjackers-punched-jesse-ventura/

Chris Kyle Killed Looters During Hurricane Katrina – Fiction!

"The claim that Chris Kyle killed 30 looters in New Orleans from a perch on top of the Superdome in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina is false. The rumor started after Chris Kyle reportedly told the story to a private group of Navy SEALS after a moderated discussion with SOFREP, a website that covers special-operations forces.

The New Yorker reports:
“(After the discussion), a larger group went out for dinner, closed the hotel bar, and hung out in Kyle’s suite, drinking until late. The SEALs began telling stories, and Kyle offered a shocking one. In the days after Hurricane Katrina, he said, the law-and-order situation was dire. He and another sniper travelled to New Orleans, set up on top of the Superdome, and proceeded to shoot dozens of armed residents who were contributing to the chaos. Three people shared with me varied recollections of that evening: the first said that Kyle claimed to have shot thirty men on his own; according to the second, the story was that Kyle and the other sniper had shot thirty men between them; the third said that she couldn’t recall specific details."
(14)
Comment
(0)
SGT Christopher Premore
SGT Christopher Premore
8 y
SSG James J. Palmer IV aka "JP4" - my question is at what point did his opinion become a fact? Last time I checked a company commander is usually not a subject matter expert at anything.
(0)
Reply
(0)
PO3 Frank Opalecky
PO3 Frank Opalecky
8 y
LTC Yinon Weiss - Might want to look into that "source". I would trust magazine reporting before the intercept.
(0)
Reply
(0)
LTC Yinon Weiss
LTC Yinon Weiss
8 y
PO3 Frank Opalecky - You're definitely right. I don't trust the intercept, or any magazine for that matter. You always have to look at the source. In this case, I'm looking at the Navy's own official file, which you can download here:

http://www.documentcloud.org/documents/2841170-Kyle-dd214.html
http://www.documentcloud.org/documents/2841171-Kyle-Citations.html
(1)
Reply
(0)
SSG Parachute Rigger
SSG (Join to see)
8 y
LTC Yinon Weiss - Jonn Lillya has always been the go to guy, and he is a trusted voice in our community, so i put more stock in his view- than a reporter who is only out for the spin...
http://thisainthell.us/blog/?p=65995
(0)
Reply
(0)
Avatar small

Join nearly 2 million former and current members of the US military, just like you.

close