Thirteen years have passed since Benghazi. Most people remember the headlines, the politics, or the firefight. But before we talk about the warriors or the fight itself, we need to talk about the families.
— John “TIG” Tiegen (@TigTiegen) September 4, 2025
Because every man we lost that night left more than a uniform behind. He… pic.twitter.com/f3pNCa2toV
...Because every man we lost that night left more than a uniform behind. He left an empty chair at the table. He left a phone call that will never come. He left kids who will grow up with a folded flag where their father should have been. He left parents who had to bury their son. He left brothers and sisters who will never again hear his laugh. He left a silence that no medal, no speech, no ceremony can ever fill.
It’s easy to honor the fight. It’s harder to sit with the quiet reality of what that fight cost at home. The families of Chris Stevens, Sean Smith, Rone Woods, and Bub Doherty carry scars that don’t make the news. They live the consequences of Benghazi every single day.
We remember them not just as names tied to a tragedy but as lives woven into families. A father. A son. A husband. A friend. Their stories did not end in Libya. Their legacy lives in the people who loved them.
Today we honor those families. We honor their strength, their resilience, and their sacrifice. They paid a price none of us would ever ask for, but one they live with every morning when they wake up and every night when they try to sleep.
Thirteen years later we still say their names. We still tell their stories. And we still stand with the ones who had to carry on without them.
Never forget the fight. Never forget the fallen. And never forget the families.
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