Following the massive success of the Clint Eastwood-directed Bradley Cooper film "American Sniper" about the deadliest sniper in United States military history, the man behind the screenplay gets another nod from his country as the government of his native state of Texas declared the day of his murder Chris Kyle Day.
The vastly controversial figure has divided the world of politics in the last few weeks, ever since "American Sniper" was released on theaters to vast box office success, as well as a number of Academy Awards nominations after being snubbed for previous awards like the Golden Globes and SAG; now, the state that saw him born has created a Chris Kyle Day in his honor.
According to The Blaze, Texas Governor Greg Abbott declared the next week date of February 2 Chis Kyle Day, in honor of the 2013 date in which the controversial sniper was shot and killed along with friend Chad Littlefield at the Rough Creek Ranch-Lodge-Resort shooting range in Erath County, Texas.
As Khou reports, the announcement of the upcoming Chris Kyle Day (which will be celebrated for the first time next week in the border state) came last Friday, as Governor Abbott spoke to an Austin event of the Texans Veterans of Foreign Wars Convention, where news of this new celebration was celebrated with a standing ovation by the crowd mostly composed of veterans.
Abbott succeeded controversial figure Rick Perry as Governor of the state only a few weeks ago. At the time of Kyle's death, there was a memorial service at the Cowboys Stadium in the Texas city of Arlington, where Perry honored the sniper as "the public face of an anonymous breed of American warrior."
"Chris was among the very best at what he did, and he saved countless American lives in the process," said the former governor of Texas at the time according to Breitbart, two years before the declaration of Chris Kyle Day. "Our state and our nation suffered a profound loss with his passing. I am honored to have known Chris and to have called him my friend. Anita and I send our deepest condolences to his wife, Taya, his children and the thousands of service members that were his extended family."
