Army veteran paratrooper who deployed to Iraq, Afghanistan before helping rescue Fox News reporter dead at 50

Sean Michael Lee, an Army paratrooper who helped evacuate thousands from conflict zones after his service — including Fox News' Benjamin Hall — died Sunday after a battle with esophageal cancer.

Lee was a 20-year veteran of the Army, having served multiple deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan as a member of the Army's storied 82nd Airborne Division , according to his obituary.

"He was, to his core, a paratrooper.

Long after he took off the uniform, the values forged there remained the organizing principles of his life: duty, loyalty, competence under pressure, and an unwavering commitment to the person beside him," his obituary reads.

AMERICA’S PROMISE TO OUR AFGHAN ALLIES IS STILL UNFINISHED FIVE YEARS LATER Lee spent the years after his military service continuing to help people.

In 2021, as Afghanistan's government was collapsing , Lee worked to help evacuate thousands during a chaotic withdrawal as a member of the nonprofit group Save Our Allies.

Just a year later, Lee was in Poland helping deliver supplies to the frontline in Ukraine in the midst of Russia's invasion .

It was there that Lee became a key part of extracting Fox News correspondent Benjamin Hall, who had been severely injured when Russian forces attacked his vehicle near Kyiv.

Two members of Hall’s crew were killed in the attack.

BENJAMIN HALL TACKLES GRUELING ONE WORLD TRADE CENTER CLIMB ON PROSTHETIC LEGS TO HONOR FALLEN HEROES "We got the call, we had just finished up a staff meeting with our folks back in the United States, and I can tell you that in about 90 minutes our guys were out the door and on the way," Lee explained to the Daily Caller during a 2022 interview .

Lee also worked to help wounded veterans through The Independence Fund.

In 2024, Lee helped deliver life-saving supplies to survivors of Hurricane Helene in North Carolina.

He lived out of a tent in the Tar Heel state as he helped deliver aid to communities where support systems had collapsed, according to his obituary.

LUKE COMBS AND ERIC CHURCH RAISE OVER $24.5 MILLION FOR HURRICANE VICTIMS AT STAR-STUDDED CONCERT FOR CAROLINA Most recently, Lee had been working under Secretary Doug Collins at the U.S.