'American Sniper:' Medal of Honor Recipient Says Director Michael Moore's Grandfather Is 'Rolling Over in Grave' Over Moore's Comments That Snipers Are 'Cowards'
Medal of Honor recipient Dakota Meyer has hit back strongly against director Michael Moore's comments that snipers are "cowards." Meyer suggested that Moore's grandfather, who was killed by a sniper, is "rolling over in his grave" over his grandson's characterization of U.S. servicemen.
"I'm sure that his grandfather who died serving this country is rolling over in his grave knowing that his grandson is using him to justify him calling U.S. servicemen cowards. I'd be willing to bet that at some point during his grandfather's service, he was watched over by U.S. snipers, and probably had his life saved more than once by U.S. snipers during the war," Meyer wrote in his reply, Scout.com reported.
Moore, famous for a number of documentaries dealing with controversial issues, such as 2002's "Bowling for Columbine" based on the 1999 Columbine High School shooting, Tweeted on Sunday: "My uncle killed by sniper in WW2. We were taught snipers were cowards. Will shoot u in the back. Snipers aren't heroes. And invaders r worse."
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He later clarified that he was not specifically referring to the recently released box-office hit "American Sniper" by director Clint Eastwood, but said that he has mixed views on the movie.
"Too bad Clint gets Vietnam and Iraq confused in his storytelling," wrote Moore. "And that he has his characters calling Iraqis 'savages' throughout the film.
"But there is also anti-war sentiment expressed in the movie," he added, while going into some of the plot details.
In his response, Meyer, who served as a Marine sniper for three years, said that he believes "American Sniper" depicted the role of a sniper very well.
"A sniper's primary goal is to eliminate ground threats for U.S. guys on the ground. Is that what a coward is? A person whose goal is to save the lives of his warrior brothers?" he asked.
"No, cowards are people who didn't have the guts to serve, and are happy to sit back in a free and protected country and call our service members cowards. I find it funny that this Moore guy would only say this after Chris Kyle was killed. I'd have loved to see him say that to Chris's face," he added, referring to the real-life U.S. Navy SEAL and sniper portrayed in the film.
Kyle, who had 160 confirmed kills in Iraq during his service time, is played in the film by actor Bradley Cooper.
