--- description: A Navy investigation found that famed Navy SEAL Chris Kyle received fewer medals for his service than records had previously shown title: Navy Corrects Medal Count for 'American Sniper' Chris Kyle image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6873ff2a57ee0bab/69889b53fb4eaceff688e3bf/chris-kyle-medal-investigation.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [U.S.](/section/us/) ## U.S. Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Military](/tag/military/) ## Military Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Navy Corrects Number of Medals Awarded to 'American Sniper' Chris Kyle  by [Katie Reilly](/author/katie-reilly/)  ## Katie Reilly Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jul 9, 2016 7:01 PM CUT  Chris Kyle, a retired Navy SEAL and bestselling author of the book "American Sniper: The Autobiography of the Most Lethal Sniper in U.S. Military History", holds a .308 sniper rifle in this April 6, 2012 photo. Chris Kyle, a retired Navy SEAL and bestselling author of the book "American Sniper: The Autobiography of the Most Lethal Sniper in U.S. Military History", holds a .308 sniper rifle in this April 6, 2012 photo.Paul Moseley—Fort Worth Star-Telegram/Getty Images  by [Katie Reilly](/author/katie-reilly/)  ## Katie Reilly Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jul 9, 2016 7:01 PM CUT A [Navy investigation](http://time.com/4348629/american-sniper-chris-kyle-medals/ "undefined") released Friday found that famed [Navy SEAL Chris Kyle](http://time.com/3674546/chris-kyle-american-sniper-interview/ "undefined") received fewer medals for his service than records had previously shown Kyle—who wrote “American Sniper,” a bestselling autobiography that was made into a 2015 movie—received one Silver Star and four Bronze Star medals with “V” devices for valor, according to the Navy investigation, [_USA Today_ reported](http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2016/07/08/navy-lowers-medal-count-seal-chris-kyle/86468402/ "undefined"). In his book, Kyle wrote that he received two Silver Stars and five Bronze Stars. Those numbers differed slightly from the Navy personnel form given to Kyle when he left the Navy in 2009\. The form said he received two Silver Star and six Bronze Star medals with “V” devices, according to _USA Today_. **Read more:** [The True Story Behind _American Sniper_](http://time.com/3672295/american-sniper-fact-check/ "undefined") Navy officials said a clerical error was made on the DD 214 form issued to Kyle in 2009, which is a common mistake in the Navy, the paper reported. It’s not clear who made the original error. Kyle, who has been praised for his heroic service, has also faced scrutiny in the past over questions of accuracy regarding his story. He was killed in 2013 by another military veteran. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4399922/american-sniper-chris-kyle-medal-investigation/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4399922/american-sniper-chris-kyle-medal-investigation/"},"headline":"Navy Corrects Number of Medals Awarded to 'American Sniper' Chris Kyle","datePublished":"2016-07-09T19:01:49.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T23:09:01.048Z","description":"A Navy investigation revealed Kyle received a Silver Star and four Bronze Stars","url":"https://time.com/4399922/american-sniper-chris-kyle-medal-investigation/","keywords":["Military","Navy","movies"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6873ff2a57ee0bab/69889b53fb4eaceff688e3bf/chris-kyle-medal-investigation.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Katie Reilly","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/katie-reilly/"}],"articleSection":"U.S.","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6873ff2a57ee0bab/69889b53fb4eaceff688e3bf/chris-kyle-medal-investigation.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Retired Navy SEAL killed in Texas","caption":"Retired Navy SEAL killed in Texas","creditText":"Paul Moseley—Fort Worth Star-Telegram/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/us/","name":"U.S."}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/military/","name":"Military"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4399922/american-sniper-chris-kyle-medal-investigation/","name":"Navy Corrects Number of Medals Awarded to 'American Sniper' Chris Kyle"}}]}] ```