The late “American Sniper” author Chris Kyle exaggerated the number of honors he earned during his military career, according to recently released documents.
Kyle, who was the deadliest sniper in U.S. military history, wrote the bestselling autobiography that was turned into a hugely successful film. He claimed in his book that he ended his career as a U.S. Navy SEAL with “two Silver Stars and five Bronze [Stars], all for valor.”
According to an investigative report by The Intercept published on May 25, awards citations show Kyle actually earned one Silver Star and three Bronze Stars with valor. After his retirement from the military, he was murdered in 2013 by a fellow veteran. The report claims that one of his former commanders, who was interviewed on condition of anonymity, advised Kyle after reading a draft of the book that “his claim of having two Silver Stars was false, and he should correct it before his book was published.”
The Intercept interviewed a number of former and current Navy SEALs who “did not dispute Kyle’s heroism in combat, but saw the inflation of his medal count as significant because they consider battlefield embellishments to be dishonorable.”
Kyle’s separation document, known as a DD-214, also includes a similar discrepancy, listing his earned decorations as two Silver Stars and six Bronze Stars with valor. He was honorably discharged in 2009 after nearly 11 years as a Navy SEAL.
The Navy did not specifically tell The Intercept why Kyle’s DD-214 form does not match the awards citations, but Cullen James, a spokesperson for Navy Personnel Command, told the news site that discrepancies can occur as the separation process involves people.
