'American Sniper' Widow Recalls 'Trying to Breathe' as Kids Learned War Hero Father Had Been Killed (Video)
Real life American Sniper widow Taya Kyle recalls the heartbreaking moment she was forced to tell her two young children that their Navy SEAL father, Chris Kyle, had been killed in an interview set to air on ABC this week.
Taya Kyle, 40, recently opened up about her tragic loss in a sit-down with "Good Morning America" host Robin Roberts and the interview is said to be candid, heartbreaking and eye-opening. The war widow lost her husband Chris, widely considered to be the most lethal sniper in U.S. history for having 160 confirmed kills, two years ago and she recalled the moment that their two children learned the tragic news.
"I remember just closing my eyes, the tears rolling down and me just trying to breathe," a teary-eyed Kyle told Roberts.
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On Feb. 2, 2013, Chris Kyle was fatally shot at a Texas gun range by former Marine and PTSD sufferer, Eddie Ray Routh who was convicted of capital murder in the killing of the war hero and his friend, Chad Littlefield.
Chris' death was made even more painful for his wife and kids because he had survived four tours in Iraq before he left the military in 2009 to focus on his family. He later became an advocate for veterans' mental health.
In a previous interview with People magazine, Kyle recalled breaking down when a local police officer visited her home to inform her that Chris had been killed.
She somehow found the strength to pull herself together for the kids and later sat them down on each knee while sitting on her front lawn and broke the tragic news to them.
"'Something really bad has happened,'" Kyle recalled telling her young son and daughter. "The tears just poured out. We just sat out there in the grass for a while and I just held them."
Naturally, the children "just asked all the questions I think we all have: 'Why did this happen? Who did it and why? Why can't they fix Daddy's heart?' I try not to be angry too much, but the kids are the ones that got cheated the most."
Kyle delves deeply into her compelling story in her forthcoming memoir American Wife: A Memoir of Love, War, Faith, and Renewal. The book is slated for release on May 4.
The tragic love story of Taya and Chris Kyle was brought to life in January in Clint Eastwood's Academy award-nominated film "American Sniper," which set box office records during its opening weekend. The film sparked controversy and ignited debates about war and PTSD.
In his 2012 best-selling autobiography American Sniper, which set the premise for Eastwood's film, Chris described war as "hell."
"War is hell. Hollywood fantasizes about it and makes it look good... war sucks," he wrote.
He also opened up about how he believed his role in the Iraq war would affect him on judgment day.
"Every person I killed I strongly believe that they were bad," he wrote. "When I do go face God there is going to be lots of things I will have to account for but killing any of those people is not one of them."
Chris himself pegged the number of his confirmed kills much higher than has been reported, to around the 255 mark, and in his book he said that he has few regrets about the killings.
"It was my duty to shoot the enemy, and I don't regret it. My regrets are for the people I couldn't save: Marines, soldiers, buddies. I'm not naive, and I don't romanticize war. The worst moments of my life have come as a SEAL. But I can stand before God with a clear conscience about doing my job," he wrote.
The Odessa, Texas, native was raised as a Christian as his father was a deacon and his mother was a Sunday school teacher, but he admitted that he was "not a perfect one." He had peace of mind about the war knowing that he had accepted Jesus as his Savior.
"I believe the fact that I've accepted Jesus as my savior will be my salvation," he wrote. "But in that backroom or whatever it is when God confronts me with my sins, I do not believe any of the kills I had during the war will be among them. Everyone I shot was evil. I had good cause on every shot. They all deserved to die."
The interview airs in a special edition of ABC News' "20/20" on Friday, May 1 at 10 p.m. on ABC.
