‘American Sniper’s’ widow Taya Kyle: ‘Evil exists, you just have to hang on.’

As Taya Kyle shared her emotional story about the loss of her husband, “American Sniper” Chris Kyle, tears flowed from her eyes on more than one occasion. She talked about her husband, the tragic loss for her family and the ongoing healing boosted by her Southeastern Guide Dogs service dog “Norman.”

Norman was unable to make the trip to Palmetto for Thursday’s press conference at Southeastern, but “Chris,” an ambassador service dog named after her husband, laid quietly at her feet as she shared how service dogs bring healing to veterans.

“Dogs know when you are broken, when you need that comfort, and I can’t tell you what kind of gift that is,” Kyle said. “Evil exists, but you just have to hang on and sometimes through all the pain, you can get grounded just by touching them.”

Kyle received Norman in June after attending Southeastern’s 12-day veterans program class that provides dogs to veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. Kyle received an emotional-support dog, but said she felt guilty taking a dog that could have gone to a veteran, but thankfully, “I know a group of people who cares enough to put their time and energy to bring veterans this huge gift.”

Kyle is no stranger to veteran service dogs with her work on behalf of military veterans, first responders and their families. She also serves as executive director of the Chris Kyle Frog Foundation and is the author of “American Wife: A Memoir of Love, Service, Faith and Renewal.” She was portrayed in the 2014 movie “American Sniper” by Sienna Miller.

Chris Kyle joined the Navy in 1999 and became a Navy SEAL, serving four tours in Iraq and is said to have 160 kills. Labeled by the enemy as “The Devil of Ramadi,” he was awarded two Silver Stars and five Bronze Stars. He was killed on Feb. 2, 2013, while at a gun range outside of Fort Worth, Texas, by an ex-Marine who had a long history of mental illness. He was just 38 years old and left behind Taya and two small children.

Kyle said Norman isn’t just for her, noting the dog has brought healing to her entire family.

“My kids are happy, have a strong foundation in faith, but there are undercurrents no matter how much counseling we have. My daughter has a hard time sleeping at night,” Kyle said through tears. “She cries. Her father was killed, and she didn’t know about it until the next morning. So I think going to sleep alone, there’s this undercurrent for her of what I am going to find out in the morning.”

Norman has taken that fear away.

“Norman sleeps with her almost every night,” Kyle said. “She’s so happy. He brings healing in ways I could have never predicted. We all struggle. It’s inevitable. We all have that moment, but dogs like Norman give us something else to think about besides the pain.”

Kyle said Norman had an immediate impact on her from day one of arriving at Southeastern.

“I wasn’t the model student when I came here,” she said. “I broke a lot of rules. From night one, Norman was in bed with me even though he wasn’t supposed to be. I can’t say there was one defining moment with Norman. It’s been the entire journey with him. He follows me in every room, but he spends a lot of time with the kids. He just seems to know when I need him there.”

Kyle’s story has brought an important light to military families in understanding that it may be the soldier deployed, but it’s the entire family who serves. She never married her husband to become a Navy wife.

“I just loved Chris,” she said. “So many people knew him as a warrior, but he was humble to the core. I loved him for who he was. He was disarmingly kind and very romantic. The November before he was killed, he sent me a dozen red roses with a note that said, ‘Just because.’”

Kyle said Chris was “a complete of a person that I have ever met. He was capable of so much but so humble and genuinely cared for people. He just had a heart for service and was always sticking up for the little guy.”

This story was originally published November 3, 2016 at 2:05 PM with the headline "‘American Sniper’s’ widow Taya Kyle: ‘Evil exists, you just have to hang on.’."