The stunning
part of this story is that Tyrone Woods and Glen Doherty killed 60 of
the attacking force. Once the compound was overrun, the
attackers were incensed to discover that just two men had inflicted so much
death and destruction.
The news has
been full of the attacks on our embassies throughout the Muslim world, and in
particular, the deaths of Ambassador Chris Stevens and three others in
Benghazi, Libya .
However,
there’s a little known story of incredible bravery, heroics, and courage
that should be the top story.
So what
actually happened at the U.S. embassy in Libya? We are learning more about
this every day. Ambassador Stevens and Foreign Service officer Sean
Smith, along with administrative staff, were working out of temporary quarters
due to the fact that in the spring of 2011 during the so-called Arab Spring,
the United States cut ties with then president Moammar Gadhafi. Our
embassy was looted and ransacked, causing it to be unusable. It is still
in a state of disrepair.
Security for
embassies and their personnel is to be provided by the host nation. Since
Libya has gone through a civil war of sorts in the past 18 months, the current
government is very unstable, and therefore, unreliable
A
well-organized attack by radical Muslims was planned specifically targeting the
temporary U.S. embassy building. The Libyan security force that was in
place to protect our people deserted their post, or joined the attacking
force. Either way, our people were in a real fix. And it should be noted that Ambassador Stevens had
mentioned on more than one occasion to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, that
he was quite concerned for his personal safety and the welfare of his
people. It is thought that Ambassador Stevens was on a “hit list.”
A short
distance from the American compound, two Americans were sleeping. They
were in Libya as independent contractors working an assignment totally
unrelated to our embassy. They also happened to be former Navy Seal’s.
When they heard
the noise coming from the attack on our embassy, as you would expect from
highly trained warriors, they ran to the fight. Apparently, they had no
weapons, but seeing the Libyan guards dropping their guns in their haste in
fleeing the scene, Tyrone Woods and Glen Doherty snatched up several of these
discarded weapons and prepared to defend the American compound.
Not knowing
exactly what was taking place, the two Seal’s set up a defensive
perimeter. Unfortunately Ambassador Stevens was already gravely injured,
and Foreign Service officer, Sean Smith, was dead. However, due to their
quick action and suppressive fire, twenty administrative personnel in the
embassy were able to escape to safety. Eventually, these two courageous
men were overwhelmed by the sheer numbers brought against them, an enemy force
numbering between 100 to 200 attackers which came in two waves. But the
stunning part of the story is that Tyrone Woods and Glen Doherty killed 60 of
the attacking force. Once the compound was overrun, the attackers were
incensed to discover that just two men had inflicted so much death and
destruction.
As it became
apparent to these selfless heroes, they were definitely going to lose their
lives unless some reinforcements showed up in a hurry. As we know now,
that was not to be. I’m fairly certain they knew they were going to die
in this gun fight, but not before they took a whole lot of bad guys with them!
Consider these
tenets of the Navy SEAL Code:
1) Loyalty to Country, Team and Teammate,
2) Serve with
Honor and Integrity On and Off the Battlefield,
3) Ready to
Lead, Ready to Follow, Never Quit,
4) Take
responsibility for your actions and the actions of your teammates,
5) Excel as
Warriors through Discipline and Innovation,
6) Train for
War, Fight to Win, Defeat our Nation’s Enemies, and...
7) Earn your
Trident every day
Thank you,
Tyrone and Glen. To the very last breath, you both lived up to the SEAL
Code. You served all of us well. You were courageous in the face of
certain death.
And Tyrone,
even though you never got to hold your newborn son, he will grow up knowing the
character and quality of his father, a man among men who sacrificed himself
defending others.
Dr. Charles R.
Roots
Senior Pastor
Former Staff
Sergeant,
USMC Captain,
U. S. Navy
Chaplain Corps (Ret.)
and Let us never forget the
Hillary Clinton Comment...
“What Difference does it make?
