Requiem for an American Sniper

Battalions of Iraq war veterans and other fans of the real or imagined Chris Kyle raised a symphony of grief over the weekend as news spread of the legendary sniper’s accidental -- and profoundly ironic -- murder at the hands of an apparently troubled fellow vet on a shooting range.

“Friends of Mr. Kyle’s said he had been well acquainted with the difficulties soldiers face returning to civilian life, and had devoted much of his time since retiring in 2009 to helping fellow soldiers overcome the traumas of war,” the New York Times reported in a front-page story.

Indeed, as I wrote  last year in a review of Kyle’s book, American Sniper, for New York-based BookForum: “At a minimum, history suggests life is not kind to military snipers.  Nightmares, alcoholism, bar fights, car accidents, and jail stints litter their civilian records. Some come completely unhinged...”

Like the man who shot him Saturday, perhaps. Or maybe he just had a beef with Kyle, who'd led a hard drinking, hard driving life for much of his time since his return from Iraq years ago.

Must-see: “Least Among Saints”

Name one happy movie about war veterans.

Time’s up.

From “The Best Years of Our Lives” in 1946 to the Vietnam War’s “Coming Home” and “Born on the 4th of July,”  veterans have been portrayed as troubled, bitter, dangerous and unconscionably scorned.

And often, of course, they are. Politicians love sending young men into battle, but they largely forget about them when they come home broken.

That’s much the case in "Least Among Saints," Martin Papazian’s engrossing portrayal of Anthony, a sensitive Afghanistan war vet haunted by memories of accidentally killing an Afghan family in their car at a Marine roadblock.

With a difference.