Chris Kyle’s funeral procession draws thousands

Comment(s)

Size: + / -

| Reprints

◀

▶

A hearse containing former Navy SEAL Chris Kyle's casket leads a motorcade leaving the Multi-Purpose Stadium in Midlothian, Texas, on Feb. 12, 2013 for the 200-mile journey to Austin, where Kyle will be buried at the Texas State Cemetery. Kyle and his friend Chad Littlefield were shot and killed Feb 2. at a North Texas gun range. (Associated Press/Star-Telegram)
** FILE ** Chris Kyle, a former Navy SEAL who wrote the book “American Sniper,” poses in Midlothian, Texas, on Friday, April 6, 2012. He was killed at a Texas shooting range on Feb. 2. (AP Photo/The Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Paul Moseley)
Mourners hold U.S. flags as a hearse containing Chris Kyle's casket leads a motorcade leaving the Multi-Purpose Stadium, in Midlothian, Texas, Tuesday, Feb. 12, 2013, for the 200-mile journey to Austin, where Kyle will be buried at the Texas State Cemetery. (AP Photo/Star-Telegram, Max Faulkner)
Supports of Chris Kyle in Midlothian, Texas, line up along the southbound lane of Interstate 35, Tuesday, Feb. 12, 2013, in Waco, Texas, for his final journey to Austin, where he will be buried at the Texas State Cemetery. Kyle and his friend Chad Littlefield were shot and killed Feb 2. at a North Texas gun range. (AP Photo/Waco Tribune Herald, Rod Aydelotte)
Larry Key gives instructions to the Patriot Guard Riders before the procession for Chris Kyle at Multi-Purpose Stadium, in Midlothian,Texas, Tuesday, Feb. 12, 2013, for the 200-mile journey to Austin, where Kyle will be buried at the Texas State Cemetery. (AP Photo/Star-Telegram, Max Faulkner)
Tracy and Lucinda Larimore, Henderson, N.V., friends of Chris Kyle, made the trip to attend the funeral in Arlington yesterday and to pay their respects as the procession passed on U.S. 287 in Midlothian, Texas, Tuesday, Feb. 12, 2013, for the 200-mile journey to Austin, where Kyle will be buried at the Texas State Cemetery. (AP Photo/Star-Telegram, Max Faulkner)
Members of Midlothian Fire Department pay their respects during a procession for Chris Kyle in Midlothian, Texas, Tuesday, Feb. 12, 2013, for the 200-mile journey to Austin, where Kyle will be buried at the Texas State Cemetery. Some 7,000 people attended a two-hour memorial service for Kyle at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington on Monday. Kyle and his friend Chad Littlefield were shot and killed Feb 2. at a North Texas gun range. (AP Photo/Star-Telegram, Max Faulkner)

By Cheryl K. Chumley

The Washington Times

Tuesday, February 12, 2013

Enlarge Photo
A hearse containing former Navy SEAL Chris Kyle’s casket leads a motorcade ... more >

Story Topics

Follow Us On

Question of the Day

Will the woman transferred to the health care division for the IRS before the scandal broke be forced to step down?

Thousands lined streets and highway overpasses in Midlothian, Texas, on Tuesday to pay respects to slain former Navy SEAL Christopher Kyle as his funeral procession travels 200 miles to Austin.

The procession left Tuesday morning from Midlothian, Mr. Kyle’s hometown. Police along the route, which has been mapped along U.S. 287 to Interstate 35E, are asking well-wishers to pause for the procession along side roads and overpasses, rather than on the highway, NBC reports. (Click here to view video)

“I think it’s wonderful that they’re honoring this man. So I think it’s — I think it’s beautiful,” said Midlothian resident Ana Juarez, in the NBC report.

Mr. Kyle, 38, was a celebrated veteran who completed four tours of duty in Iraq and wrote the best-selling book “American Sniper.”

Iraq War veteran Eddie Ray Routh, 25, has been charged in the Feb. 2 killings of Mr. Kyle and his friend Chad Littlefield at a North Texas gun range.

The procession is being headed by military personnel, emergency first responders and the Patriot Guard, NBC says. Mr. Kyle will be buried at Texas State Cemetery.

Some 7,000 people, including former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin and her husband, attended a two-hour memorial service for Mr. Kyle at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington on Monday.

Tara Kyle said goodbye to her husband, emotion filling her voice, CBS reported.

“Chris, there isn’t enough time to tell you everything you mean to me and everything you taught me,” she said, during the service, according to CBS.

• This article is based in part on wire service reports.

About the Author

Cheryl K. Chumley

Cheryl Chumley is a continuous news writer for The Washington Times. Previously, she was part of the start-up team for The Washington Times’ digital aggregation product, Times247. She’s also a 2008-2009 Robert Novak journalism fellow with The Phillips Foundation. She can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.