Gibson Guitars designed a on-of-a-kind Les Paul guitar that will be up for auction for charity. The guitar was inspired by former Navy SEAL Chris Kyle, the subject of last year’s film American Sniper.
The goal of the auction is to raise proceeds for the Guardians for Heroes Foundation, benefiting veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Kyle suffered from PTSD and started his own charity, the Chris Kyle Foundation. Country artist Tom Montana was inspired by his friend, a marine who also experienced struggles with PTSD, and after seeing American Sniper, reached out to Gibson with his idea to make a guitar to auction for charity.
Around seven people worked on creating the custom Les Paul, which features “special knobs with the bullet shells” from the same kind of ammunition Kyle used in combat and a “special paint job with many layers of paint and masking, not a sticker that’s applied.” The design features the skull logo that Kyle’s SEAL Team 3 used during its tours in Iraq.
Kyle wrote a memoir about his time in Iraq and its effects on his family, which inspired the Academy Award-nominated film. He helped launch Guardian for Heroes and spent time helping fellow veterans struggling with post-traumatic stress disorder.
The auction started today and will close May 5. You can keep track of the bids here.
Courtesy of USA Today