Three of the four Americans killed in Tuesday's attack in Libya had ties to California.
U.S. ambassador to Libya Chris Stevens was killed in the attack. He was raised in the East Bay. He graduated from Piedmont High School and got college degrees from both U.C. Berkeley and Hastings Law School.
We learned Thursday, two of the other victims were former U.S. Navy SEALS from San Diego County.
Tyrone Woods, 41, of Imperial Beach and Glen Doherty, 42, of Encinitas, both former U.S. Navy SEALs, died when protestors broke through security at the U.S. consulate in Benghazi.
"It doesn't seem real," Woods’ ex-wife Patty So told our sister station in San Diego Thursday hours after she had been notified by a someone at a government agency in Virginia.
"He was the greatest Navy SEAL. Nobody was more skilled than him," So said. "He loved being a SEAL more than life itself. "
Doherty, a native of Winchester, Mass., was a trained SEAL sniper who worked as a private security contractor in countries such as Afghanistan, Pakistan and Yemen.
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His sister, Kate Quigly, confirmed her brother's death Thursday. She said he was employed to protect U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens and foreign service member Sean Smith, the other two victims in the violence.
Former Navy SEAL Brandon Webb, who co-authored the book "21st Century Sniper: A Complete Practical Guide" with Doherty said, "He died serving with men he respected, protecting the freedoms we enjoy as Americans and doing something he loved."
"He was a best friend and one of the finest human beings I've ever known,” Webb said.
Glen Doherty entered the SEALs in 1995 and ended his military service in 2005.
When in San Diego, Doherty worked as a Kokoro Camp Trainer at a company called SEALFIT in Encinitas, helping in classes modeled after the famous Navy SEAL Hell Week.
When members of the media arrived at the gym early Thursday, clients and co-workers were just learning about the news of Doherty's death.
His friends remembered a man who enjoyed the beach and the mountains of Utah, a man who wouldn't let a day go by without spending some part of it enjoying the outdoors.
"His fearlessness took many forms throughout his life, but was always at his core," brother Greg Doherty said in a written statement.
The 42-year-old was in a long-term relationship with girlfriend Shannon Shepherd and kept the same group of friends he had in elementary school.
"Don't cry for Glen, he would not approve," said "SH9", friend and former Navy SEAL. "Celebrate a man who lived well and died with a gun is his hands, fighting for those too weak to fight for themselves.”
While we continue to gather details of Tyrone Woods' military career, we have learned he once owned The Salty Frog in Imperial Beach and is currently married to a woman with a dentistry practice in La Jolla.Click here to read more about the life of Ambassador Chris Stevens or watch the video below:
