I had never heard of the internet news magazine "The Intercept" until last week. A friend of Taya and Chris Kyle's had forwarded a copy of a story that The Intercept had disseminated. The article in question accused Chris Kyle of inflating his medal count when writing his autobiography. In addition, the article revisited some of the other accusations that the left has made, leaving a great American's repuation in question. It took some time for me to settle down after I had read The Intercept's story. A quick Google search revealed a number of well-written articles defending Chris, including a particularly clear and concise rebuttal from former Texas Governor Rick Perry. I also noticed that Texas' flagship magazine "Texas Monthly" had waded into the discussion. I'm one of those rare Texas Conservatives who still reads Texas Monthly religiously. I have learned to avoid the predictable left-leaning perspectives that the magazine takes with every issue, and to enjoy the amazing writing by the likes of Skip Hollingsworth. Its sad how quickly things can change. I actually had hope that Texas Monthly would do a bit of research and defend Texan Chris. I couldn't have been more wrong. Texas Monthly was unable to jump on the bandwagon regarding the exact number of Chris' medals because the information provided by The Intercept (The Inept would be more accurate) was quickly discredited. You see, the folks at The Intercept contacted the Department of the Navy to request clarification regarding the exact number of Chris Kyle's medals. Those of us who have a bit of experience dealing with Uncle Sam and the U.S. military know that contacting respective USG Departments directly is liable to get you incomplete information. My first thought was, "did anyone at The Intercept think to track down a copy of Chris' DD-214?" This is the form that accurately collates a soldier's time in military service, and it includes the accurate number of medals awarded. The Intercept was correct about one thing: in his book, Chris did not provide the correct number of medals he had earned. Instead, he actually shorted himself by one. Chris had been awarded more medals than he had claimed in his book. You would think that this discovery would have shut down the latest campaign by liberals to trash Chris in absentia. Sadly, you would be mistaken.
Texas Monthly had frothed themselves up into such a fit of anticipation, they decided to do a hit-piece regardless of the dicredidation of the information originally reported by The Intercept. Instead, the well-known Texas publication published an article titled, "How We Talk About Chris Kyle" and subtitled, "It's Possible To Be Both A Hero And A Liar". Ouch. Let me state unequivically: I knew Chris Kyle. We were not best friends, we were two Texans who started talking to each other one day in the Green Zone in Baghdad because we both were wearing Texas caps. Chris was one of the older Navy Seals on his team, and I was one of the older Case Officers in my graduating class at the Farm. Us old farts tend to stick together, especially Texas old farts. We talked about High School football, the Dallas Cowboys, and the awesomeness of West Texas, especially Big Bend. Chris did not have a whole lot to say, which suited me fine. Two things I can guarantee you about Chris Kyle- he loved his family, and he was no liar. Texas Monthly wants us to know that it's possible to be both a hero and a liar. Actually, all they've proven from my optic is that it's possible to be a magazine and a pile of shit at the same time.
In order to flesh-out its paper-thin and whiney accusations, Texas Monthly rehashed a few accusations that really strain credulity. The events repeated by Texas Monthly could easily be chalked up to a misunderstanding, bad memory, or just a case of simple confusion on someone's part. Allegedly, Chris told someone about a shootout in which he was involved somewhere out in rural Texas. The Texas Monthly reporter (or whoever was checking up on the story) drove out to the Farm Road that Chris had (again, allegedly) identified as the location of the incident. It should come as no surprise that this intrepid investigator was unable to locate an establishment or any persons who could bear witness to the story. This was one example of what Texas Monthly concludes is a pattern of lies. Texas Monthly also mentions the well-known trial in which it was decided that Chris had lied in his book about an encounter with former Governor Jesse Ventura. All of these examples may seem convincing to the folks in Austin, but what they have in common is the one fact that renders them useless: Chris died before he had a chance to defend himself from this slander. My Daddy used to tell me that "if you want to ruin anybody's good name, just wait a few minutes til after they've gone to their just reward".
Chris is not here to point out that maybe he had gotten confused in the information he provided someone, or maybe the other person just mixed things up? It happens all the time, folks, at least to me. If you consider all the sacrifces Chris made for his country, not to mention his other heroic contributions, hasn't he earned the benefit of the doubt? He has in my book, and I hope also in yours. Its time for the media and the left to steer clear of Chris and his family, and go back to attacking Donald Trump.
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