American Sniper - Boekje Pienter

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The nickname “the Legend” had started back in Fallujah, around
the time of the beach ball incident, or maybe when I got that really
long shot. Before that, my nickname had been Tex.
Of course, it wasn’t just “Legend.” There was more than a little
mocking that went with it—THE LEGEND. One of my guys—Dauber, I
think it was, even turned it all around and called me THE MYTH, cutting
me down to size.
It was all good-natured, in a way more of an honor than a full-uniform
medal ceremony.
I really liked Dauber. Even though he was a new guy, he was a sniper,
and a pretty good one. He could hold his own in a firefight—and trading
insults. I had a real soft spot for him, and when it came time to
haze him, I didn’t hit him . . . much.
Even if the guys joked about it, Legend was one of the better nicknames
you could get. Take Dauber. That’s not his real name (at the
moment, he’s doing what we’ll call “government work”). The nickname
came from a character in the television series Coach. There, Dauber
was the typical dumb-jock type. In real life, he’s actually an intelligent
guy, but that fact was of no consideration in his getting named.
But one of the best nicknames was Ryan Job’s: Biggles.
It was a big, goofy name for a big, goofy guy. Dauber takes credit
for it—the word, he claims, was a combination of “big” and “giggles”
that had been invented for one of his relatives.
He mentioned it one day, applying it to Ryan. Someone else on the
team used it, and within seconds, it had stuck.
Biggles.
Ryan hated it, naturally, which certainly helped it stick.