Ex-Navy SEAL’s funeral procession ends in Austin
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Military service members salute Christopher Kyle’s casket during a memorial service at Cowboys Stadium, Monday, Feb. 11, 2013, in Arlington, Texas. His coffin arrived Tuesday at Texas State Cemetery. / AP Photo/Brandon Wade
AUSTIN, Texas The funeral procession for slain former Navy SEAL Chris Kyle has ended its 200-mile journey at the cemetery in Austin where the best-selling author will be buried.
Ex-Navy SEAL laid to rest
About 200 motorcycles, motor coaches, police cruisers and other vehicles made the trip Tuesday from Midlothian. That’s the small town 25 miles southwest of Dallas where the 38-year-old Kyle lived with his family.
A white hearse carried Kyle’s flag-draped coffin to the Texas State Cemetery.
Kyle was considered the deadliest sniper in the history of the U.S. military. His book “American Sniper” recounted his efforts in the war on terror and in Iraq.
Kyle and friend Chad Littlefield were shot multiple times at a remote shooting range Feb. 2. A man has been charged in their deaths.
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Nearly 7,000 people showed up to Kyle’s memorial at the Cowboys stadium in Arlington, Texas, Monday. Family and friends gave eulogies, and country singer Randy Travis sang “Whisper my Name” and “Amazing Grace.”
Eddie Ray Routh, a 25-year-old veteran who had served in Iraq, is charged with fatally shooting Kyle and Littleton by turning his gun on them at a shooting range. Documents show that Routh has been taken to a mental hospital twice in recent month.
Travis Cox, director of FITCO Cares — and organization Kyle founded — has said the men apparently were helping Routh work through post-traumatic stress disorder.
