American Sniper

On Friday I went with Chris to see American Sniper. Chris really wanted to see this movie and I really didn’t think I did but…..

Chris is a pilot in the U.S. Air Force –

In order to live through the things that come with his job (numerous trips and deployments), I prefer to live in a “fantasy world.” Mostly that means that I don’t watch the news and I steer clear of anything that has to do with war.

Well, we saw the movie and it sucked me in. The images of the towns and the people in Iraq were beyond anything I could have imagined.

(I have never asked Chris about what he sees on trips “in country” – once I saw a picture of the base they were staying at and the bomb shelters sort of freaked me out – I never thought about the fact that those might be necessary!!!)

The fear that the people live with every day is awful! Even the women and children are willing to kill if it means they will be safe.

Watching Chris Kyle (played by Bradley Cooper) and the loyalty he felt for our country really reminded me of how fortunate we are to live in the country we do. He did 4 tours!!! That is a lot of time spent away from his family in order to fight for our country.

After the 4th tour he had a hard time adjusting to life at home. His issue wasn’t learning to live with all the people he had killed but learning to live with the fact that he couldn’t help more people. He met with a VA doctor who told him there were plenty of people in the hospitals he could help.

Helping the injured veterans try to learn to live again is what ultimately helped him resume his life at home.

And, it ultimately cost him his life.

This totally blind-sided me!! (Remember I live in a fantasy world and didn’t pay attention to the news 2 years ago!!!!) I completely lost it at the end of the movie.

I cried (the ugly kind because I was trying not to make any noise) through the entire funeral procession. It was incredible to see the support for an American Hero!!!