Between bursts of machine gun and AK-47 fire, Mark “Oz” Geist and Tyrone Woods talked about their children. Geist’s daughter was seven months old, and Woods’ third son had been born shortly before his deployment to Libya, Geist said.

“We’re talking about our kids and the next thing you know, you’re getting attacked again almost simultaneously,” he told Fox News, smiling wryly at the memory.

The Islamist militant group Ansar al-Sharia attacked the U.S. diplomatic outpost and CIA annex in Benghazi, Libya, on Sept. 11, 2012. Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens, Department of State employee Sean Smith and CIA contractors and former Navy SEALs Glen Doherty and Woods were killed in the assault.

The attackers stormed the U.S. consulate and started shooting around 9:40 p.m. About a mile away, members of the CIA annex security team heard the gunfire. Several members later testified that their chief of base ordered them to wait before responding.