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The Chris Kyle Memorial is dedicated to famous American sniper who was born and raised in Odessa Texas. The story of Chris Kyle, one of the most lethal snipers in U.S. Military history is full of patriotism, self-sacrifice and heroism. Chris Kyle’s story is well-known. He was one of the many who served, suffered and sacrificed for our beloved country.

People such as Chris Kyle were among the best of us. Boys who grew into men, and who sometimes never made it back home. They stood tall for us. For all of us. We can’t forget them.

A memorial for slain Navy Seal and “American Sniper” author Chris Kyle has been unveiled in the West Texas city where he was born in 1974. The monument was unveiled on July 28, 2016, and was privately-funded. Chris Kyle’s memorial includes plaza, bronze statue. The Chris Kyle Memorial is located at the TX-191 Frontage, Odessa, TX 79765, United States.

Chris Kyle and friend Chad Littlefield were killed in 2013 at a Texas shooting range. A former Marine was convicted in their deaths and sentenced to life in prison.

UPDATES:

• In 2018, Chris Kyle’s memorial was vandalized by unknown vandals. one local veteran and his son didn’t let it sit long enough, they cleared the graffiti left by vandals on Chris Kyle Memorial

All of us probably have heard about John Wick. Despite it is a fictional character featured in the movie, his shooting skills were pretty good. The character was featured by Keanu Reeves who mastered shooting range in preparation for the role. But, can we all train to shoot guns like John Wick?

Realistic gunfights are messy, they are not so action-packed and are rather slow-paced by comparison. Even more so in an urban area with so many opportunities to hide and ambush any assailant. This is why teamwork is so important in the military, it’s just not possible for you to John Wick through such a high risk and complicated environment. But if you still push forward, the team behind John Wick/Keanu Reeves firearms training was the Taran Tactical.

Taran tactical is the organization that teaches Keanu Reeves his weapon handling skills. And yes, it is pretty impressive isn’t it? (Not sarcasm) I also had many a “wow” moment when I watched the movie.

But, what you are mistaking is the difference between weapon handling skills and actual gunfighting skills. John Wick approaches his gunfights like a 3-gun action challenge match, with a huge dollop of Hollywood stirred in and a small drizzle of “tactical” on top. From the way, he holds his weapons to the way he moves, to the way he shoots. It’s almost as if he is in a live-action 3GACM.

The issue is, real life isn’t a 3GACM. In real life, your targets are not static, they are living breathing humans with brains and actively trying to take you out instead of predictable fodder for the protagonist to slaughter. The movie literally makes the bad guys glorified reactive paper targets for John Wick to 3GACM his way through. Tactically, John Wick is a dumbass. But Keanu Reeves firearms skills in the real-world are quite impressive, as you may see it on the video down below.

Navy SEAL Sr. Chief Mike Day had never been shot before, but that changed dramatically one night in April 2007. He survived, but that night had changed his life permanently.

Firefight with al-Qaeda insurgents

On April 6, 2007, Mike Day was caught in a brutal firefight with three al-Qaeda insurgents after he was the first of his team to enter a room in a town near Fallujah, Iraq. The enemy fighters opened fire, hitting Day with 27 separate bullets. His body armor stopped eleven shots, but 16 penetrated his body and left him perilously wounded.

A grenade then exploded just 10 feet away from him, knocking him unconscious. According to Mike Day, when he woke up roughly a minute later, he managed to kill two of the fighters with his pistol.

“Upon entering that doorway, they all just opened up on me. It felt like somebody was beating me up with sledgehammers,” Day said.

“After I’d figured out I was getting shot, I said, ‘God, get me home to my girls.’ That was my first prayer to God, honest prayer. When the fighting finally stopped, he miraculously got up and walked himself to a medical helicopter.

“People hear about my story, and they can’t believe it. I was there, and I can’t believe it,” Day said. “I got shot 27 times – 16 in the body and 11 times in my body armor. ”

“I was shot in both legs, both arms, my left thumb was almost amputated, I was shot in the abdomen and had a colostomy bag for a year, my right scapula was shattered, I was shot twice in the buttocks, once in the scrotum and my body armor was hit multiple times which caused fractured ribs and contusions on my lungs.”

Rehabilitation

The Navy SEAL spent just 16 days in the hospital – during which time he lost just under four stone – before he was discharged and awarded the Purple Heart, the oldest military decoration still given to serving military members in the US. During the following years, he was treated for PTSD by the Carrick Brain Centers in Dallas.

He wrote the book “Perfectly Wounded” which has become a bestseller.