Kyle left the U.S. Navy with an honorable discharge in 2009 and went on to write his bestselling memoir, American Sniper, which was published in 2012. A film adaptation of the same name, directed by Clint Eastwood, hit theaters two years after the book’s release. Tragically, on February 2, 2013, Kyle was fatally shot at a shooting range near Chalk Mountain, Texas, along with his friend Chad Littlefield, who was 35 years old. Eddie Ray Routh, a former Marine, was charged with their murders and subsequently found guilty, receiving a life sentence without the possibility of parole.