American Sniper

http://www.amazon.com/American-Sniper-Movie-Tie--Autobiography/dp/0062376330/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1421595565&sr=1-2&keywords=american+sniper+chris+kyle&pebp=1421595573590&peasin=62376330

I'm spending my Saturday afternoon engaged in this work;it was recommended to me by neighbor who was a US Marine sniper in Vietnam. He doesn't talk much about the war;therefore,I'm surprised he actually read this,albeit his military background has,once again,called him to duty.He is an avid reader and we have engaged in many literary dialogues.(Beaver County,Pa is full of badasses! They just don't post on Facebook!)Obviously,this book has received a lot of attention.Anyways,I must say...the author appears to be highly xenophobic;I'm not injecting a diatribe on his character,just an observation.I'm in the infancy of his narrative;however,it is replete with sharp objectivity and devotion to his country and fighting unit.I actually know a few Navy Seals and one(former)Green Beret.I've always held an intense and HUGE fascination for Special Operations.That said,I often think of my father and uncles who have served and the "selection" of stories they shared. My late father told me HORROR stories of Hiroshima;he actually walked on that apocalyptic ground. He told me of the many 5 and 6 year old children he'd seen whose faces were so badly burned that "they made the elephant man look like a beauty queen!" (A real quote from my father! He NEVER got that story out of his head...). His brother was a survivor of Bastogne and the Battle of the Bulge;he will tell you stories that can make your hair fall out! My Uncle Bob was a Medic in Korea;he NEVER talked about it.All my father would tell me was that he saw MANY men bleed to death...and couldn't do a thing to stop it! There was simply not enough Medics for everyone.My other Uncle Bob was a survivor of the "Tet Offensive" in Vietnam...do you know how many American soldiers were killed during this military operation? (Look it up!) The point is this: All these stories are fascinatingly subjective;each one is unique and solo. I mention these folks from my family only for ONE reason:they did not consider themselves heroes,just doing a job;my father always told me that the "REAL HEROES" were the ones who never made it home.I'm not certain where this SEAL is gong with his book;however,I sure wanna find out.I will close with this: WE are all so lucky to possess ALL the CHOICES we have;we have the CHOICE to worship ANY God we see fit,to read a BIBLE(King James,NIV,Gita,Koran,Book of Mormon,etc!)of our CHOICE,to SAY and WRITE what ails us,to SPIT on the VERY flag that those who died defending and not blink an eye! Show me a country where you can demonstrate this paradigm,without consequences(like getting your head cut off or thrown off of a building!Yes,I'm referring to my earlier post,but I"M NOT GAY! However,I defend EVERYONE'S RIGHT TO EXIST!)?Thank the God you have the RIGHT to worship that you reside in a country where this is granted;more importantly,thank those who gave FREELY to you (that you did not earn yourself)and have preserved that right...The United States has many graveyards of those Killed In Action.Put a flower on their grave,say thank-you! I do it every chance I get.