Review
Author: Benjamin Hall
Reviewed by: SHA
Issue: June 2023
On March 14,2022, Fox News war correspondent Benjamin Hall was in a van with four others when a bomb hit right next to their vehicle. Hall was gravely injured and stuck in Kyiv, his chances of making it out of there alive were slim. The four others in the van were killed: his beloved cameraman Pierre Zakrzewski, Ukrainian translator Sasha Kuyshynova, and two Ukrainian security officers. The series of miracles that would save his life began almost immediately. He was found in a ditch near Kyiv, Ukraine by Ukrainian soldiers who picked him up and got him to a hospital in Kyiv where his first treatments were provided, but his critical condition was beyond their range and they had to get him out of Ukraine as soon as possible. While the military, Fox News, the Department of State, and a group called Save Our Allies (SOA) mobilized to create and activate Halls evacuation and securing major medical care, it was learned that the Prime Minister of Poland was in Kyiv and would be taking his train back to Poland. Pulling every lever possible, Halls' "team" was able to get him on that train and out of Ukraine to medical care in Poland, then to the U.S. Landstuhl Medical Center in Germany and finally to the Brooke Army Medical Center (BMAC) in San Antonio where all of his major injuries could be managed. Prosthetics for both legs, serious burns, shrapnel removal around his left eye and neck, and more. In Saved, Hall describes every step of the way from Kyiv to BMAC, the horrible pain the numerous people who worked miracles to move him, the medical issues and their treatment, his contact with his wife Alicia and their three young daughters, and his resolve to get home to his family and resume a "normal" life. Hall describes his career as a war correspondent prior to becoming injured in Ukraine and detailed every step of his exit from Ukraine and the people involved in that evacuation to safety and medical help. This book is an exceptional account of how this undaunted severely injured man, Benjamin Hall, was saved by the collective efforts of a remarkable group of people from around the world was rallied on his behalf. Saved was an evocative, interesting, and deeply moving read. Tragedies seem to bring out the best in humanity and the telling of Hall's evacuation from Ukraine to safety, his resolute attitude and fight to recover, exposed all that is wonderful about love, family, and the support of others.