7 years ago today we lost 4 american heros on an attack on a US Embassy in in Libya. Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens, Information Officer Sean Smith, and two CIA operatives Glen Doherty and Tyron Woods.
The attack was in revenge for the the death of Abu Yahya Al-Libi who was killed in a drone strike months earlier. al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri released a video to coincide with the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks in 2001, which called for attacks on Americans in Libya
The attack came without warning. There were no protest and was discovered that the heinous act had nothing to do with a YouTube video.
Ahmed Abu Khattala, 47, a Libyan national, was sentenced to 22 years in prison on federal terrorism charges for the deadly 2012 attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya.
Kris Tanto Paronto with Shares with FoxNews lessons learned from Benghazi and other deployments. U.S. Ambassador to Libya J. Christopher Stevens, U.S. Foreign Service Information Management Officer Sean Smith, and CIA contractors and former Navy SEALs Glen “Bub” Doherty and Tyrone Woods were killed on Sept. 11, 2012, when the compound was ambushed in a coordinated attack by the Islamic militant group Ansar al-Sharia.
Despite the loss of four lives, more than 20 others were saved because of the “never quit” attitude of former Army Ranger Kris “Tanto” Paronto and other members of the CIA annex security team who fought the attackers for 13 hours.
Paronto said he wanted to share that lesson, and more, with whoever’s willing to listen.
“I still speak quite a bit about lessons learned from Benghazi and other deployments,” he told Fox News. “To me, it really doesn’t seem like that long ago; it’s still on the forefront of my mind. Looking back, I’ve always thought of it as a heroic time – guys laid their lives on the line, and two of our teammates died saving peoples’ lives.”
“Never quit – it’s a common theme with a lot of veterans, and it’s especially true of the Special Operations community,” he said. “You just don’t give up, no matter what’s going on or what you’re going through. You take steps forward and eventually, you’ll come out of it,”
“I’m not the strongest person in the room when I talk to groups,” Paronto added. “But, if I can fight through the death of my teammates, watching them die, then you can push on if something in your life is not what you want it to be.”
So today in observance of the lives lost in both 9/11 and Benghazi we are taking a pause to remember these heros.
J. Christoper Stevens
Christoper Stevens served as the U.S. Ambassador to Libya from May 22, 2012 to September 11, 2012. Stevens was the first United States ambassador killed in an attack since Adolph Dubs was killed in Kabul, Afghanistan in 1979
Tyrone S. Woods
Retired Navy SEAL, Tyrone Woods, 41, of Portland, OR, was working on a private security detail for the U.S. State Department in Benghazi, Libya, when the U.S. Embassy and CIA annex came under attack.
Glen Doherty
Glen was a highly decorated SEAL, a warrior and a medical corpsman: He was a nine-year veteran with combat experience in Iraq and Afghanistan and become a CIA contract protective officer, lost his life in the service of his country while trying to protect a CIA facility in Benghazi, Libya, early on the morning of September 12, 2012.
Sean Smith
was an information management officer with the United States Foreign Service who was killed during the September 11, 2012 attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya.