New beginning: Father of Benghazi hero moves to Bigfork

A man who lost his son in the 9-11 attack in Benghazi, Libya has moved to Bigfork.

Charles Woods, a retired attorney, moved to the area in August with his family from eastern Oregon.

Woods was visiting a friend with his wife, Charlene, when she fell in love with the place.

The couple were on their way back to Oregon when Charlene looked at her husband and said, “Turn around,” Charles said.

Bigfork is a new beginning of sorts for the Woods family. The couple plan to raise their three daughters — Joy, Faith and Hope — here.

Charles’ son, Ty Woods, a former Navy Seal, was one of four men killed in the attack on the American consulate and CIA annex in Benghazi, Libya on Sept. 11, 2012.

Although one might wonder how Woods copes with the loss of his son, Charles explained: “God is loving in all His ways and He’s sovereign.” Charles referred to a scripture about God knowing when each sparrow falls (Matthew 10:29-31). This verse gives him comfort, he said.

Charles wants Ty Woods’ life to be an inspiration because he helped rescue 30-plus Americans.

Charles said Ty was “made to be a Seal,” the elite Navy-trained fighting unit. “When he was five he would be gone all day with his .22 shooting ground squirrels,” Charles said. Ty was a certified scuba diver in junior high school.

Woods said that while Ty was in Navy boot camp, he swam to where the Seals were swimming and passed their swimming test. “They were surprised at first, but liked his ‘gung-ho’ attitude and said, ‘Your with us’,” Charles said.

Ty served 20 years in the Navy and retired in 2010. He continued working in the security field as a government contractor, Charles said.

He could benchpress over 500 pounds and was described by those who worked with him as a Seal’s Seal, and an Alpha Male among Alpha males, Charles said.

When Ty was called by the CIA and asked to go to Libya, he didn’t say no. “He was valuable because he had several million dollars’ worth of training,” Charles said.

He recalled the last conversation he had with his son before he left. Charles said he told his son he didn’t worry about him during the 20 years he served in the Navy, but this time he was. “I said, “This time I don’t feel comfortable.’” Charles remembers his son’s reply, “If I don’t go, who will?”

Charles said he had a premonition Ty would come back injured.

Ty had said this was his final deployment. He had been in Libya two months and was asked to stay two more weeks. He had six days left when he was killed.

“He was going to do the right thing no matter the cost,” Charles said. Ty’s principle was, “As long as I have one drop of blood, I will rescue my comrades,” Charles said.

Ty requested to help the Americans who were besieged by an al Qaeda-affiliated group. “He was told to stand down twice. The third time he went anyway,” Charles said, noting American ambassador Christopher Stevens was still alive when Ty was told to stand down the first two times. He was dead by the time the third refusal came however.

The U.S. consulate was a half-mile from the CIA annex where Ty was stationed. Ty and others drove and fought their way there.

Ty scaled the back wall at the consulate and started firing at an organized al Qaeda-affiliated operation, Charles said.

Those inside were put into armored vehicles and moved to the CIA annex. “They fought their way back” while al Qaeda were shooting at windows and tossing grenades under vehicles, Charles said.

The battle lasted seven to eight hours. Ty killed about 60 al Qaeda and captured some too, Charles said. At one point he was on the roof of the CIA annex when he pin-pointed the origin of al Qaeda mortar fire with a laser, Charles said. That act exposed the enemy and himself.

“His last words were, “Where the (expletive) is the spectre?” Charles said, possibly referring to the AC-130H Spectre, an Air Force gunship. Glenn Doherty, another former Seal, was killed by a mortar fire just before Ty was killed. “It takes training to use a mortar,” Charles added.

Diplomatic security agent David Ubben was injured and remains in recovery at Walter Reed Medical Center in Washington, D.C.

In the aftermath of Woods’ and Doherty’s deaths, some questions have been asked. But Woods would still like to know who gave the command for Ty to stand down.

Army General Carter Ham was combatant commander of the African command at the time of the incident. He retired in October. “He told (Congressman) Jason Chaffetz they had assets in the area. He was never given the order to use them to rescue,” Charles said. “There’s always a standing order to rescue (your own soldiers),” he said. Retired Rear Admiral James Lyons said there are only two people with the authority to order someone to stand down, Charles said, the secretary of defense and the president.

The U.S. had F-16 fighter aircraft in the area at the time of the Benghazi killings, Charles said. These could have been used to strafe the area with laser-guided missiles with pinpoint accuracy. The F-16s also could have been used to fly at 300 feet above the ground. “The sound is enough to make you give up,” Charles said. He noted that Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said that F-16s were not the appropriate platform for the rescue (they were based in Aviano, Italy).

Charles was in Washington, D.C. on Sept. 19 for a hearing of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, where  he testified along with Patricia Smith, the mother of foreign service officer Sean Smith, who was killed inside the U.S. consulate in Benghazi.

At the hearing, which was recorded on C-SPAN 3, Charles asked, “Is it true Gen. Ham was relieved of duty for refusal to stand down?” This is just one of the questions he’d like answered.

U.S. Rep. Trey Gowdy, R-S.C., said there is no closure for those who have lost a child. “What I hope we can offer you is the truth, facts, justice,” he said. Gowdy said the government’s Accountability Review Board didn’t bother to interview some of the key eye witnesses when it investigated the incident.

“I am asked about Benghazi more than any other issue,” Gowdy said, referring to questions he gets from his upstate South Carolina constituents.

Committee Chairman Darrell Issa, R-Calif., said that he recently signed subpoenas for John Martinec, the top security adviser to Ambassador Stevens, and Alec Henderson, the regional security officer in Benghazi.

“I want the truth to come out,” Charles said Thursday. “I’ve forgiven everyone involved. I would love to see them in heaven, but obviously they would have to change the direction of their lives,” he said of those involved in what he calls the Benghazi cover-up. Susan Rice, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, initially attributed the Benghazi attack to a protest against an American-made, anti-Islam video. That was later proven to be false.

“There are two ways to do a cover-up: passive and active,” Charles said. He explained that a passive cover-up involves giving no information. An active cover-up involves lies or disinformation. “The U.S. government has done both,” he said. “I don’t want this to be political, but truth and justice are important, forgiveness as well.”

In spite of the unanswered questions, Charles said that Ty’s life can inspire others to be heroes, “if you stand by your principles, no matter the cost. If he could inspire people, that’s what he would want.”

Soptelean can be reached at reporter at bigforkeagle.com.