Army Veteran Who Aided in Rescues, Including Fox News' Benjamin Hall, Dies at 50

Sean Michael Lee, an Army paratrooper who served multiple combat deployments and later dedicated himself to humanitarian efforts, died Sunday at age 50. His death followed a battle with esophageal cancer, which his obituary states was a direct result of exposure to burn pits during his service in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Lee, a 20-year veteran of the Army, was a member of the 82nd Airborne Division. His obituary highlights his commitment to duty, loyalty, and competence under pressure, values forged during his military service that guided his post-service life.

Following his military career, Lee continued his commitment to service through various organizations. In 2021, he was involved with the nonprofit group Save Our Allies, assisting in the evacuation of thousands of people during the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan. The following year, he traveled to Poland to deliver supplies to Ukraine amidst the Russian invasion. During this time, Lee played a crucial role in the extraction of Fox News correspondent Benjamin Hall, who had been severely injured when his vehicle was attacked near Kyiv. Two members of Hall's crew were killed in the incident.

Lee also worked with The Independence Fund to aid wounded veterans and, in 2024, helped deliver supplies to communities affected by Hurricane Helene in North Carolina, living out of a tent to provide support where systems had collapsed. Most recently, he worked for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs under Secretary Doug Collins.

Sarah Verardo, a founder of The Independence Fund and a friend of Lee's, described him as someone who "spent his life running toward the crisis." She noted his work evacuating Afghan interpreters, establishing field hospitals in Ukraine, and delivering aid in North Carolina, emphasizing that Lee "went wherever he was needed most" without seeking recognition.

Lee's obituary states that his life should be measured not just by years or deployments, but by the lives he impacted. "It is measured in people who made it home because he went toward danger," it reads. "In wounded men carried to safety. In Afghan families given a chance to begin again. In communities that received help when they believed they had been forgotten. In veterans whose lives were better because he continued serving them after his own time in uniform ended. And in the children who simply knew him as Uncle Sean: the constant, fiercely protective man who showed up."

Lee was part of the 2003 invasion of Iraq and served in Bravo Company, 2-508 Parachute Infantry Regiment, which saw significant action during an Afghanistan deployment documented in Ben Kesling's book "Bravo Company: An Afghanistan Deployment and its Aftermath." He is survived by his two best friends, Sgt. Michael Verardo and Sgt. Allen Thomas, who had also deployed with him to Afghanistan and passed away before him. He died at the age of 50.