Chris Kyle is seen in this 2012 photo.(Photo: Paul Moseley, The Fort Worth Star-Telegram, via AP)
WASHINGTON – The Navy is investigating a discrepancy about the number of medals “American Sniper” Navy SEAL Chris Kyle claimed he was awarded for heroism, officials said Wednesday.
Kyle, who was killed in 2013, gained fame from his autobiography,
American Sniper, and the 2015 Hollywood film with the same title. In the book, Kyle<span style="color: Red;">*</span>wrote that<span style="color: Red;">*</span>he had been the recipient of two Silver Stars and five Bronze Stars. But the Navy found citations for one Silver Star and three Bronze Stars in response to an open records request from the online news site,
The Intercept.
Navy officials were trying to reconcile its files on Kyle, Lt. Jacqueline Pau, a Navy spokeswoman, said Wednesday
The Silver Star is the third highest commendation troops can receive. USA TODAY reported last week that Kyle was among more than 100 Navy SEALs who had received Silver Stars in secret since Sept. 11, 2001. The medals were presented without notice for troops involved in classified missions, and the Navy released redacted information from them.
USA TODAY
Navy SEALs secret medals reveal heroism during past 15 years
The citation for Kyle credited him with killing 91 enemy fighters in the Iraqi city of Ramadi in 2006. In a recent interview, Army Lt. Gen. Sean MacFarland, who commanded a brigade in Ramadi at the time, recalled Kyle’s record as astounding.
The Silver Star citation refers to Kyle’s “heroic actions, professionalism and incredible sniper skills” on 32 missions.
A form in Kyle’s personnel file credits him with two Silver Stars and six Bronze Stars, according to a Defense official familiar with the issue but not authorized to speak publicly about it. That form, known as a DD 214, is filled out by clerical staff at the small unit level and errors are not uncommon, the official said.
Whether any errors originated with Kyle remains in question, though alleged claims of his have drawn skepticism before.
Kyle once
told a D Magazine writer that he killed two would-be carjackers at a gas station, and a<span style="color: Red;">*</span>
New Yorker profile recounted Kyle claiming he shot dozens of armed rioters from atop the Superdome in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Neither claims were<span style="color: Red;">*</span>verifiable.
In his memoir, Kyle said that in 2006 he punched a man later identified as Jesse Ventura. The former Minnesota governor said the story was false, as did a
jury that awarded Ventura $1.8 million in a defamation lawsuit against Kyle’s estate.
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