An electric guitar inspired by former Navy SEAL Chris Kyle is now up for auction.
A USA Today report has the guitar's backstory, the proceeds from which will be donated to the Guardian for Heroes Foundation, which helps veterans with disabilities and gold star families.
Kyle is the most lethal sniper in U.S. military history and wrote a book that was published in 2012. He was shot and killed by a fellow veteran at a gun range a year later, and a movie adaptation of his book, "American Sniper," was released late last year.
Bidding for the guitar, a Gibson Les Paul, started at $3,000. By Thursday night, the bidding was at more than $15,000. The auction ends May 5.
The guitar body's design mimics the same logo used by Kyle's SEAL Team 3 group, while the knobs for adjusting the tone and volume are made with shell casings from sniper bullets.
Country musician Tim Montana came up with the idea for the guitar after seeing "American Sniper" in the theater, and he worked in tandem with Gibson to design and create the instrument.
"The goal is obviously to raise awareness to PTSD and help raise money for such a worthy cause in honor of an American hero," Montana told USA Today.
Montana told USA Today he befriended a combat veteran about eight years ago who was suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). That soldier, Hunter Mitchell, died in February before the guitar was completed.
"I wrote a song about him and his experiences a couple years ago," Montana told USA Today, referring to Mitchell. "In the midst of this whole thing, he passed away. He told me about [how PTSD affected him] and helped me see it firsthand."
The guitar holds an estimated value of $50,000, according to the auction page.
Eddie Ray Routh, the man who killed Kyle and another veteran in Texas,
was convicted of their murders in February and was sentenced to life in prison.
"American Sniper"
set several box office records in the weeks after it hit theaters nationwide.