The kids of the American Sniper have spoken out for the first time since his death.
Chris Kyle was murdered in 2013, alongside his friend Chad Littlefield, by Eddie Ray Routh. Widely known as ‘the most lethal sniper in history’, the former US Navy SEAL served in the military for 10 years before leaving service in 2009.
His story is particularly popular thanks to the 2014 film, American Sniper, which stars Bradley Cooper as the sniper.
Loosely based on the marksman’s memoir, it follows his struggle living with the difficulties he went through and saw while on tour in Iraq.
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After Kyle left the military, he regularly worked with other veterans leading to Routh’s mother reaching out for help.
He had experienced post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and so the sniper thought a visit to a shooting range at a resort would have therapeutic value. However, Routh ended up shooting Kyle dead.
The American Sniper left behind wife Taya Kyle, who he married in 2002 and shared two kids with; Colton, 19, and McKenna, 18.
In the year’s following Kyle’s death, Taya shielded their children from the public eye.
But now, at much older ages, the pair say they’re ready to open up about life without their hero dad.
In an interview with People, Colton said people tell him he looks just like his father ‘every single time’.
“The number of people who come up to me who have never met him and talk about the way his story impacted them amazes me,” he said as he explained how his dad ‘touched so many people personally’.
McKenna, who was attached to her dad, found it extremely ‘devastating’ to go on without him.
“But I'm doing well now,” she said. “I'm learning to see the good in the world again.”
Colton also described how life has been without their dad, saying: “Through adversity, through fire, gold is refined.
“I am a better man today than I would have been if I had not lost my father, especially at the time that I did. I have grown so much spiritually and emotionally.”
The pair described Kyle as ‘so joyful’ and ‘light-hearted’, reminiscing on how he used to ‘pull pranks’ on the family.
As Colton also took the death ‘incredibly hard’, the family took to religion and therapy to help them get through it.
The son now runs his American Sniper brand, selling merch with the American Sniper logo on, with some of the proceeds also going to The Taya and Chris Kyle Foundation.
For both, ‘carrying on his legacy’ is key.
Jess Battison