Nearly one year ago, Fox News correspondent Benjamin Hall was severely injured in a bombing while covering the war in Ukraine. Two reporters died in the explosion; Hall lost one leg, both feet, and one eye, but survived.
Hall’s vehicle was struck by Russian fire while he was reporting in Horenka, located near Kyiv. Fox News photojournalist Pierre Zakrzewski and Ukrainian journalist Oleksandra “Sasha” Kuvshynova were killed in the attack.
In his upcoming memoir, “Saved: A War Reporter’s Mission To Make It Home,” Hall details his last assignment and his hard-fought journey to recovery.
Hall returned to television on Thursday morning with a moving interview on “Fox & Friends.” Hall told viewers facing significant challenges to “never give up.”
“I think that when you’ve gone through something like I’ve gone through, the highs, the lows, you have to have a target, you have to get something to fight for, Hall said. “And this is it, trying to get back, trying to speak to you, trying to be on the air, and trying to tell people the stories, so perhaps it can help them.”
To those who may feel led to think, well, you don’t know the challenges I am facing, Hall said, “I’ve got one leg, I’ve got no feet, I see through one eye, [I have] one workable hand. I was burned all over … [but] I feel strong, I feel more confident than I ever have.”
Hall explained that having a support group and something to live for is an important part of being able to overcome, saying:
“I think that you learn a lot going through things like this, and I was surrounded by so many wonderful people – that’s why I’m here today, and I look forward to everything that comes ahead.”
Though injured while covering front-line action, Hall insists journalists must continue reporting from embedded front positions, noting that people must hear “stories from war.”
Hall put his recovery time to good use, writing a memoir titled “Saved: A War Reporter’s Mission To Make It Home.” Hall notes the book offers untold details of his journey.
During the interview on “Fox & Friends,” Hall was encouraged to read a brief excerpt from his book — a section profiling the explosions and how “everything went dark” as bombs went off around him.
Hall read: “If I had the slightest iota of consciousness, it was a distant sense of shock waves and the feeling that every part of my body – bones, organs, sinew, my soul – had been knocked out of me. I was all but dead, but improbably, out of this crippling nothingness, a figure came through, and I heard a familiar voice, as real as anything I’d ever known. ‘Daddy, you’ve got to get out of the car.'”
Hall noted that the vision of his three daughters gave him the strength not to give up and to get out of the car though severely injured. Hall shared that the vehicle was hit by a mortar a few minutes later.
“I opened my eyes and managed to crawl out of the car,” he said. “If it weren’t for them bringing me back, there is no way I would be here today.”
Hall also credited Zakrzewski, who struggled to make it possible to exit the vehicle, for saving his life. Hall recalled, “The two of us laid there for about 40 minutes and talked; he passed away.”
“Fox & Friends” co-host Ainsley Earhardt asked Hall how he remained positive despite his horrific experience.
Hall provided good advice to all facing challenges:
“I think it’s really important when you’re feeling low – there were many times when I was really at the bottom. You have to know there is good on the other side.”
Hall continued: “If you work hard, if you dedicate yourself to getting somewhere, you don’t stop trying to achieve that – you will get there no matter how painful something is, no matter how hard it is, if you really want to and you have the support to do it, you can get there. Never give up.”
Hall also credited the support of friends, family, and followers with his ability to overcome:
“When people reach out and tell you they’re thinking about you, they’re praying for you, that gives you support as well, so for anyone else who is going through really difficult things, keep going. Never give up. It’s inside you, and it’s always good on the other side.”
In December, Hall was awarded the 2022 Foreign Press Award from The Association of Foreign Press Correspondents. In his acceptance speech, which he delivered remotely, Hall said:
“I do think that this is not just an award for myself. It is an award for Pierre and for Sasha, who both died during that attack and also for every other war correspondent who has been injured or killed covering conflicts.”
“And despite the attack, despite what happened to us, I think it is essential that people continue telling the news, telling the stories from war. I think that’s the only way we truly get to understand the atrocities, the disasters and the horror that’s happening out there.”
Scroll down to leave a comment and share your thoughts.
