Navy SEAL Sniper Chris Kyle’s Funeral Procession Is 200 Miles Long

Dillon Cheverere12 years ago

Chris Kyle, the Navy SEAL sniper given the nickname “The Devil of Ramadi” by Iraqi insurgents for recording 160 confirmed kills (the real number is thought to be 255), was slain on February 2 by fellow military veteran Eddie Ray Routh — a man who Kyle was helping recover from PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder).

Today, Kyle’s life is being celebrated in his home state of Texas in grand fashion, with a 200-mile long funeral procession. Texas residents and patriots are lined up along U.S. 287 and Interstate 35E to show support.

From NBC DFW:

North Texans are expected to line the roadways and overpasses to pay their respects to slain ex-Navy SEAL sniper Chris Kyle along a 200-mile procession from Midlothian to Austin Tuesday morning.

The procession began at about 9 a.m. Tuesday at the Midlothian ISD’s multipurpose stadium at 1800 South 14th Street.

The procession will take U.S. 287 to Interstate 35E to Texas State Cemetery in Austin where Kyle will be laid to rest.

[…]

Kyle has been a long-time Midlothian resident. People are planning to send him off like a hometown hero. Flags are lining the route to the slain former Navy SEAL’s final resting place in Austin.

I’ll close with this quote from an interview Kyle did with Bill O’Reilly, in which O’Reilly asks him about being referred to as a “savage” by some military naysayers.

Bill O’Reilly: “So you were committed to killing these people, because you, in your heart, believed that they deserved to die?”

Chris Kyle: “I wasn’t so much committed to killing them…I’m committed to making sure every service member that was over there, whether American or allie, came home.”

American hero.

Awaiting the casket:

Photos courtesy of @Danny_Vega2

[via NBC DFW]

Image via Daily News