A cost of war that is not often talked about is the toll it takes on the correspondents who cover it. Brave journalists embed themselves in the situation in order to be able to tell it to the world. They often are in grave danger and at risk for injuries.
Fox News war reporter Benjamin Hall knows this all too well. While covering Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, his vehicle was hit during a Russian missile attack. Benjamin was critically injured, losing a leg and a foot, while his companions lost their lives. His road to recovery has not been an easy one, as he opened up about in his new memoir, Saved: A War Reporter's Mission to Make It Home.
Benjamin never wanted to be the story, preferring instead to report them. Surviving the attack changed all that. He became the headline. One year and about 30 surgeries later, his main emotion is gratitude.
"You know, I look at my injuries and I don't worry about them one bit, because I'm here with my family,” he told People magazine.
Benjamin arrived in Ukraine in late February 2022. He knew the risks but felt his mission to tell the story was more important.
"The only way you can really tell a good story is to be there," he said.
On March 14, 2022, Benjamin’s world would be forever changed. He traveled outside of the city of Kyiv to get footage of a nearby destroyed town. While traveling back to the city, his vehicle was struck during a bombing by multiple Russian missiles.
Of the five people in the car, Benjamin was the only one to survive. Fox News cameraman Pierre Zakrzewski and local journalist Sasha Kuvshynova were among those killed.
"I lost limbs and I'm badly injured, but they lost everything," Benjamin stated.
Benjamin was rescued by a driver who made a wrong turn and happened upon the scene. This Good Samaritan took him to a hospital in Kyiv. When Fox News heard of his injuries, it began working to get him transferred to a US Army hospital.
Benjamin is a father of three whose daughters were just 6, 4, and 2 years old at the time of the attack. He and wife Alicia had to figure out when the best time to tell them was.
"I didn't want to tell the girls anything until we knew for sure that he would be okay because I didn't want them to be worried that he'd had an accident and then not be able to give them any answers,” Alicia recalled.
Benjamin was eventually transferred to the Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas. His family lives in London. He and Alicia decided that she and the girls would remain in England while he focused on healing.
"We had to divide and conquer," Alicia said.
Benjamin’s desire to get home was a big factor in motivating him to heal. "When I was really low, I just tried to find one little piece of goodness, one little thing to help me get through it,” he said. That was always his family waiting for him.
Benjamin finally got his wish in August 2022. He was allowed to return home to his family in London. While he was a bit nervous, he was also ready for "absolutely normal day-to-day things."
Benjamin is not completely out of the woods yet. He still has some recovering to do, but he is so thankful for his journey so far and to be back home with his family.
"I look at the world now in a much more confident way. You could throw absolutely anything at me and I know that I'll get through it,” he said.
Alicia is also optimistic and thankful. "It's a journey, isn't it? Life's a journey. It would be selfish of Benji and I to wallow in self-pity when much worse has happened to many more people,” she concluded.
