The family of former Navy SEAL Glen Doherty is calling on Congress to pass legislation honoring each of the Americans who died in the Benghazi attack.
Doherty, a Winchester native, was one of four killed in the Sept. 11, 2012, terrorist attack on the U.S. mission in Benghazi, Libya.
Those killed included Doherty, 42; Tyrone Woods, a fellow former Navy SEAL; Sean Smith, an information management officer; and J. Christopher Stevens, the U.S. ambassador to Libya.
The Doherty family wants Congress to act before it adjourns next month.
“There’s been so much politics around Benghazi, and we don’t want that to be his legacy,” Kate Doherty Quigley, Glen’s sister, said yesterday. “This is really about trying to honor the hard work that they did and honor people who died for their country, doing what they loved.”
House Resolution 2315, led in the House by U.S. Rep. Stephen F. Lynch (D-Mass.) and U.S. Rep. Brian Mast (R-Fla.), would posthumously award each of the four Americans killed in Benghazi the Congressional Gold Medal, one of the highest honors a civilian can receive.
The requirements for gold medal bills, however, are stringent. The bill must have two-thirds of House members listed as cosponsors. As of yesterday, it had about 240 of the 290 it needs to pass by December.
Thus far, the measure has broad bipartisan support. The former chairman and the ranking member of the House Select Committee on Benghazi — U.S. Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.) and U.S. Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.), respectively — are both co-sponsors, as are Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) and Ranking Member Adam Schiff (D-Calif.). And with the addition of U.S. Rep. Richard Neal (D-Mass.) this week, all of the members of the Massachusetts delegation are also cosponsors.
Last week, Doherty’s sister sent a note to the chiefs of staff of all the remaining Congressional members.
“For our family and the families of the others killed that day, such recognition from Congress would mean changing the narrative of how our loved ones will be remembered in history,” she wrote.
A veteran of Iraq and Afghanistan, Doherty at the time of his death was working for the government to protect United States diplomatic personnel and property.
“Glen and our family knew that he risked his life every day he went to work,” his sister said, “as did his colleagues and their families.”
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