Greater love has no man than he lay down his life for his friends. So said Jesus Christ.
There are many heroes we can honor on 9/11. Such as those who fought back on the plane that went down in a field in Pennsylvania. (Said Todd Beamer: “It’s time. Let’s roll.”) Such as all those firemen who went up the Twin Towers as they were burning from the terrorist attacks.
Thousands commemorated some of those heroic firefighters in runs across the US, including one called “Tunnels to Towers,” to remember fallen fireman, Stephen Siller, who died on 9/11, trying to rescue as many as he could. At my pokey pace, I even got to run such a race in Ft. Lauderdale.
But there are at least three forgotten heroes from 9/11 that I want to highlight here. Three heroes from 9/11---2012. From the attack in Benghazi. Perhaps, there are others. But because so much about the Benghazi attack that killed our Ambassador, Chris Stevens, and three others, is still surrounded in controversy, we still don’t know all the details, definitively. Perhaps because the attack didn’t fit the narrative that Al-Qaeda was on the ropes and bin Laden was dead.
On November 2, 2012, CBS news provided a clear timeline of the fateful events that night, the 11th anniversary of 9/11.
All sides might not agree on some of the specific details, but this seems to be agreed to by all: Four Americans died on the attack on the consulate outpost in Benghazi, and they were the ambassador, information officer Sean Smith, and two Navy Seals, Ty Woods and Glen Doherty, who died in a gunfight to protect Americans.
From what I can tell, both Ty Woods and Glen Doherty fit well with what Jesus said about “greater love.” As I understand it, because of their sacrifice, the lives of others were saved.
Another hero of that night was agent Scott Strickland, who apparently returned into harm’s way, into a burning building, to try and save the ambassador; but it was too late.
These should be household names---and perhaps there are others that didn’t make the reports. Who knows? Maybe they’ll all be honored properly some day in the made-for-TV movie.
There have been many hearings about Benghazi, the most famous being the one on January 23, where Hilary Clinton erupted in anger at one of the senators, asking: “What difference, at this point, does it make…?” As to the cause of the attack---i.e., a terrorist attack vs. a spontaneous mob protest brought on by a video. Why hold a hearing if the motive made no difference?
Geoffrey Dickens of the Media Research Center wrote an article (9/9/13) called “Benghazi Blackout” on the mainstream media’s collective yawn on details of last year’s attack.
For example, Dickens writes: “On July 18 Republican Congressman Frank Wolf went to the House floor to claim survivors of the Benghazi attack, State Department and CIA employees were forced to sign non-disclosure agreements. Total Big Three Network stories? 0.”
No wonder these three heroes (and probably there were others) are largely forgotten. They’ve been ignored by the dominant media.
Ty Woods’ father, Chuck Woods, did everything he could not to politicize his son’s death or to make it a campaign issue (during the heated 2012 campaign). But he wondered if the administration has been forthright in how they have handled the Benghazi killings.
Chuck Woods delivered this statement: “I want to honor my son, Ty Woods, who responded to the cries for help and voluntarily sacrificed his life to protect the lives of other Americans. In the last few days it has become public knowledge that within minutes of the first bullet being fired the White House knew these heroes would be slaughtered if immediate air support was denied. Apparently, C-130s were ready to respond immediately.”
Woods states the White House knew what was going on, but for whatever reason chose not to respond: “In less than an hour, the perimeters could have been secured and American lives could have been saved. After seven hours fighting numerically superior forces, my son’s life was sacrificed because of the White House’s decision.”
He added, “This has nothing to do with politics, this has to do with integrity and honor. My son was a true American hero. We need more heroes today. My son showed moral courage. This is an opportunity for the person or persons who made the decision to sacrifice my son’s life to stand up.”
Apparently, Woods and Doherty even defied orders to “stand down,” to save lives.
Although the White House seems to acknowledge now that it was a terrorist attack (trying to claim that they did from the beginning), initially they tried to shift the blame on an anti-Mohammed Internet video. That video was so poorly made, as a video, that Saturday Night Live couldn’t do a better job in a parody against it.
For about two weeks, the President, Secretary of State Clinton, Jay Carney, and other White House officials tried to make the video the cause of the attack on Benghazi. The whole world now knows differently. (Yet as of this writing, the film-maker is still in jail for reportedly violating something else.)
In our remembrances of heroes of 9/11, Ty Woods, Glen Doherty, and Scott Strickland should also be included. Too bad political correctness has obscured the memory of their sacrifice, so far.