At a time when the country is faced with horrific acts of terrorism, American patriots Taya Kyle (widow of “American Sniper” Chris Kyle) and retired Navy SEAL Marcus Luttrell, author of The Lone Survivor, are embarking on a national Patriot Tour, which comes to Boston August 1.
Kyle recently penned her own memoir, a beautiful personal testimony of their unwavering faith and commitment to their decade long marriage along with their trials and tribulations along the way through his many deployments in Iraq. Chris was killed on February 2, 2013 while attempting to help a troubled vet. We recently caught up with Taya to discuss her chronicle of service and sacrifice over the last few years along with her renewed faith and resolve to make a difference in other people’s lives.
“The Patriot Tour is something Chris and Marcus came up with as they were looking to raise awareness for patriotism,” she said. “It’s an inspirational evening where each speaker brings something different to the table. Each one of us has persevered. We aren’t there with any political or personal agenda.”
Did she have any hesitations about the making of American Sniper featuring Bradley Cooper? “I was so focused on Chris and how he was going to be represented,” Taya said. “I was really in tune with how they got him right. Bradley went above and beyond and really invested so much into the making of it. I felt everything that Sienna (Miller) felt and it really ended up being so special.”
What would Chris think of the movie? “Chris was so humble, but it really would have made him proud,” she added. “A lot of healing has come from the movie. I have only seen it twice as it’s very emotional for me. I felt a tremendous sense of relief after seeing it for the first time. They didn’t shy away from the difficult material, but didn’t take creative license with it either.”
Kyle set up the Chris Kyle Frog Foundation in her husband’s memory. “The mission is to honor God and country,” she said. “We do this by helping the marriage. With the divorce rate so high, our goal is to do simple things by paying it forward in a special way. We offer staycations for couples in the military who are moving around or they have money, time or scheduling issue. They might be able to stay in a hotel for 48 hours where room service might be paid for. We hope this will give the couple time to devote to each other.”
For more information on The Patriot Tour or to purchase tickets, visit http://teamneverquit.com/patriot-tour/.
