Home > Work > American Sniper: The Autobiography of the Most Lethal Sniper in U.S. Military History
101 " how much better America looks when you’ve been gone from it for a while. "
― Chris Kyle , American Sniper: The Autobiography of the Most Lethal Sniper in U.S. Military History
102 " The fanatics we fought valued nothing but their twisted interpretation of religion. And half the time they just claimed they valued their religion—most didn’t even pray. "
103 " Please don't tell my momma I died in pain, he muttered.... He died right then. He didn't even live long enough to hear my lies about how everything was going to be okay "
104 " Right away he’d cuss me out, tell me I was a worthless piece of shit. But I never got pissed at David. In my mind, I thought, I’m better than that and I’ll show you. As it happens, "
105 " The new Iraqi army had a camp nearby. Those idiots took it in their head to send a few shots our way as well. Every day. We hung a VF panel over our position—an indicator showing we were friendly—and the shots kept coming. We radioed their command. The shots kept coming. We called back and cussed out their command. The shots kept coming. We tried everything to get them to stop, short of calling in a bomb strike. "
106 " WATCHING THE CITY, WE WERE also watching warily for an Iraqi sniper known as Mustafa. From the reports we heard, Mustafa was an Olympics marksman who was using his skills against Americans and Iraqi police and soldiers. Several videos had been made and posted, boasting of his ability. I never saw him, but other snipers later killed an Iraqi sniper we think was him. "
107 " I've lived the literal meaning of the "land of the free" and "hone of the brave." It's not corny for me. I feel it in my heart. I feel it in my chest. Even at a ball game, when someone talks during the anthem or doesn't take off his hat, it pisses me off. I'm not one to be quiet about it either. "
108 " TO TOP THINGS OFF, THE IRAQIS HAD SENT SOME SCUDS OVER just before the war started. Most had been taken care of by Patriot missiles, but one got through. Wouldn’t you know it took out the Starbucks where we’d hung out during our prewar training? That’s low, hitting a coffee place. It could have been worse, I guess. It could have been a Dunkin’ Donuts. The joke was that President Bush only declared war when the Starbucks was hit. You can mess with the U.N. all you want, but when you start interfering with the right to get caffeinated, someone has to pay. "
109 " was deathly afraid for my wife. I felt real fear. Worse. "
110 " Anticipation makes things worse. "
111 " Rank is a funny concept in the Teams. It’s not disrespected exactly, but it’s clearly not the full measure of the man. "
112 " it takes more than personal toughness to be good leaders. "
113 " They were already halfway to Paradise, in their minds at least. "
114 " Until you actually experience something, you just don’t know. "
115 " We are, in many ways, opposites. Still, we seemed to click. One day on the phone he was asking what I thought made us compatible. I decided to tell him some of the things that drew me to him. “I think you’re a really good guy,” I told him, “really nice. And sensitive. "
116 " I loved killing bad guys. "
117 " According to the ROEs I followed in Iraq, if someone came into my house, shot my wife, my kids, and then threw his gun down, I was supposed to NOT shoot him. I was supposed to take him gently into custody. Would you? "
118 " IT WAS MY DUTY TO SHOOT, AND I DON’T REGRET IT. THE woman was already dead. I was just making sure she didn’t take any Marines with her. "
119 " The number is not important to me. I only wish I had killed more. Not for bragging rights, but because I believe the world is a better place without savages out there taking American lives. Everyone I shot in Iraq was trying to harm Americans or Iraqis loyal to the new government. "
120 " People try to put me in a category as a bad-ass, a good ol’ boy, asshole, sniper, SEAL, and probably other categories not appropriate for print. All might be true on any given day. In the end, my story, in Iraq and afterward, is about more than just killing people or even fighting for my country. "