Only a handful of people know what really happened the night of September 11, 2012, when Islamic militants attacked an American diplomatic outpost and a nearby CIA annex in Benghazi, Libya, killing Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens and three other Americans. Kris "Tanto" Paronto is one of those few, and he told his story to a crowd at the Killeen Civic and Conference Center Tuesday night.

In the video above, you'll hear Paronto relive that night and explain why he and his comrades came forward to tell their story, even if it meant damaging their careers.

Paronto is a former Army Ranger who was working as a security contractor at the CIA annex that night. When the neighboring American consulate was attacked by militants and abandoned by the Libyan February 17th Martyrs Brigade, Paronto was one of six from the CIA security team to disobey orders to stand down and rush to help the Americans trapped in the consulate.

Paronto, along with fellow defenders Mark "Oz" Geist and John "Tig" Tiegen, contributed their firsthand accounts of the Benghazi attacks to Mitchell Zuckoff's book '13 Hours: The Inside Account of What Really Happend in Benghazi', as well as Michael Bay's film adapation, '13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi.

 

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