Clinton Salutes Ex-SEALs, From Encinitas and IB, Killed in Libya Attack

Story updated at 5:25 a.m. Sept. 14

Two of the four Americans killed in Libya Tuesday were former Navy SEALs, security experts who settled locally after retiring, one in Encinitas, the other in Imperial Beach.

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton offered condolences to both their families Wednesday, saying Tyrone Woods, 41, of Imperial Beach, had the “hands of a healer” and that Glen A. Doherty, of Encinitas, had shown “selfless honor and unstinting valor.”

She recounted their service to their country:

Tyrone’s friends and colleagues called him “Rone,” and they relied on his courage and skill, honed over two decades as a Navy SEAL. In uniform, he served multiple tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. Since 2010, he protected American diplomatic personnel in dangerous posts from Central America to the Middle East. He had the hands of a healer as well as the arm of a warrior, earning distinction as a registered nurse and certified paramedic. All our hearts go out to Tyrone’s wife Dorothy and his three sons, Tyrone Jr., Hunter, and Kai, who was born just a few months ago.

We also grieve for Glen Doherty, called Bub, and his family: his father Bernard, his mother Barbara, his brother Gregory, and his sister Kathleen. Glen was also a former Navy SEAL and an experienced paramedic. And he put his life on the line many times, protecting Americans in Iraq, Afghanistan, and other hotspots. In the end, he died the way he lived – with selfless honor and unstinting valor.

Doherty's family spoke to the Boston Globe, saying the government had confirmed that he was killed while providing security at the U.S. consulate in Benghazi that was attacked by extremists. He had only departed San Diego for the assignment eight days ago.

Fox5 San Diego reports that he lived in Encinitas, where he also worked at the CrossFit/SEALFIT gym, which released a statement late Wednesday.

"We have the deepest respect for everything Doherty did for America and while overseas to further our overseas foreign policy," read the statement. "He was a great coach and mentor to many, including our SEALFIT family."

The Huffington Post adds that Doherty had been concerned about religious intolerance within the Armed Forces and was active in trying to confront it.

Last month Doherty told ABC News he was in Libya on an intelligence mission to find and destroy shoulder-fired surface-to-air missiles.

 was the father of two teens and a newborn. The . 

Woods lived across the street from the beach near the pier with his wife Dorothy Narvaez-Woods, a dentist in La Jolla. Manuel Santana was Woods' neighbor for eight years. 

"All I can tell you is he was a good man," he said.

The two Navy veterans got together to "tell sea stories" and share a few beers in the past, but Santana did most of the talking, he said, since Woods was a quiet, private guy.

"Everybody's kind of shocked," Santana said about the tightly knit neighborhood. "It's a shame when something like that happens to a young guy in the prime of his life. For what? It's totally senseless."

Doherty, 42, hailed from Winchester, MA. and entered the Navy when he turned 30, according to the Boston Globe report. He became a SEAL, his family said, and served in both Iraq and Afghanistan, before retiring in 2004, ABC News said, citing military records. 

He chose to  settle out West where his sister Katie Quigly said “he loved to be.” Because of that, she added, the family has decided the West Coast will be his resting place.

In a statement to the media Thursday, Quigly said her brother “lived his life to the fullest.”

“He was my brother, but if you ask his friends, he was their brother, as well," she said. “We ask for privacy during this time as we grieve for our friend, my brother, our brother, our son and our American hero.”  

Doherty helped write the 2010 book, Navy SEAL Sniper: An Intimate Look at the Sniper of the 21st Century. He also has worked as a trainer and was a licensed pilot.

Co-author Brandon Webb, of La Jolla, praised Doherty for his skills, but also noted that he has lost a treasured friend.

"Glen was a superb and respected operator, a true quiet professional," Webb said. "Don't feel sorry for him, he wouldn't have it. He died serving with men he respected, protecting the freedoms we enjoy as Americans and doing something he loved. He was my best friend and one of the finest human beings I've ever known."

The attack on the consulate, in which U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens and Sean Smith, an information officer, also perished, has set off tensions and further protests in other countries, including Egypt and Yemen.

Meanwhile, Libya has taken four people into custody in connection with the initial attack, reports NPR. There is speculation as to the cause, whether it was sparked by a movie, filmed in California, that mocked Islam, or was coordinated as part of an effort linked to the anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

The Navy already has directed two destroyers, the USS McFaul and the USS Laboon, to the region, and Marines are accompanying the mission.

Patch editors Khari Johnson and Marlena Medford contributed to this report.

This piece has been amended to reflect that it was a U.S. consulate that was attacked, not an embassy.