Carlos Hathcock, a badass sniper in Viet Nam. He also says he wasn't the best shot but he was in the right place defending American troops. I have read the book and Kyle is pretty humble about his skills even though he knows he is very talented. Hathcock wrote a book as well and it wouldn't surprise me if that is what inspired Kyle's book. "One Shot, One Kill" is a pretty good read if you are interested in Viet Nam.
The word 'Hero'. That is an archetype and many people will try to define a life as heroic. To sacrifice or put one's life in a struggle or position of danger in which the outcome is for the good is a difficult position to identify with. I don't think a hero tries to profit off of his actions either. I think the term is carelessly throw about these days like many other identifiers. Kyle did his job with near perfection and saved many American lives along the way. Did he call himself a hero? Did he want all of us to know how well he did his job? Whatever those answers are, he did his job and when he came home, he worked to help the guys who struggled from PTSD when they got home. I don't care what he is called but I do believe he loved this country and his countrymen and he died helping his fellow soldiers. Now, to call him a coward (Michael Moore) you can suck it!
'I DO NOT ADVERTISE THE NATURE OF MY WORK, NOR SEEK RECOGNITION'. This ethos has been violated so many times in recent years. I don't think it's a good thing. I also believe he was a patriot and wanted to help others with PTSD. His premature death was very sad.
To me any man or woman who puts their their lives on the line for the love of their country are heroes. As to Chris Kyle, are we really even discussing whether or not he's a hero? He's a fucking hero, period. Further, if 1/2 of the way he was depicted in the movie, which we're told was accurate, is true, it's clear that what drove Kyle to return for 4 tours, I think it was, was love of his country and "brothers" whose lives were in danger. I don't recall him making that comment but based on what I saw, I would frame it by suggesting maybe it was said in terms of what he did saving lives. All that said, I don't think it's fair for any of us who've never seen war first-hand to critique a soldier's character as a person. The irony is that they (soldiers) fight for us to have the right to do so. Even though we know war is ugly, I imagine most of us would not really want to know JUST how ugly. Personally I would've been shitting in my pants if I'd ever had to leave American soil to go abroad and risk having a limb blown off or being killed on any given day.
You know what the real irony of it is, though? Even after all the mental and emotional scar tissue left behind, the the most satisfying and fulfilling times I've had has been during my 4 tours in Iraq and Afg. I thought they accurately portrayed the coming home. It was hard to reconnect with the wife and kids again when all I really wanted was to go back. Just when I got to the point of normalcy, the cycle started over, another intensive training period, another year spent, trying to reconnect after coming home when I couldn't think about anything other than getting back. What a ride.
After watching I explained to my wife how he was having a hard time not being so keenly attuned to surroundings. Sounds that were not out of the ordinary to civilians carried a different connotation (if there is such a thing as audio connotations) when he heard them. To your situation, I bet it is hard to transition. For one thing going from such strong comradery where you know your bro's have your back to civilian life where most people are back-stabbers. Even moreso, knowing around any corner could be someone waiting to kill you.
The movie even points out that he wasn't a sure shot. He says he is better at hitting things that are breathing.
You surely didn't take any shit from those ROTC sentries. I'm surprised you didn't have them polishing Sherman's bronze rifles before you left.
It's a movie. It's not necessarily reality. Case in point, Jolie made a movie about Zamperini based on a biography of his life and seems to have missed the entire purpose in his life after he returned to America. That said, it's obvious that Angelina isn't good enough to sit in Clint's empty chair.
