Fox News Channel correspondent Benjamin Hall, who was seriously injured while covering the Russian invasion of Ukraine, said Thursday that he credits his dying colleague – as well as a vision of his daughters – for motivating him, after survive the Russian bombing.
Hall was hospitalized and two of his colleagues, cameraman Pierre Zakrzewski and Ukrainian journalist Oleksandra Kuvshynova, were killed when their vehicle was hit by a fire in Kyiv in March 2022.
Hall told Fox & Friends Thursday that he and Zakrzewski spoke while they lay wounded, and that conversation helped him move on.
“We both lay there for about 40 minutes and talked. He died,” Hall said. “But the journey I was to take was about my being saved.”
Fox News correspondent Benjamin Hall. FoxNews
Hall also read an excerpt from his forthcoming memoir, in which he detailed the harrowing moments immediately following the attack. He said he was “as good as dead” before hearing his daughter’s voice in his head.
“When I had the slightest consciousness, it was a distant sensation of shock waves and a sense that every part of my body — bones, organs, tendons, my soul — had been knocked out of me,” Hall read from the book. “I only existed as a part of nothing. I was as good as dead but unlikely to have any shape emerging from this paralyzing nothingness, and I heard a familiar voice as real as anything I had ever known. ‘Daddy, you need to get out of the car.'”
Hall told Fox that seeing a vision of his three young daughters motivated him to survive.
“I opened my eyes and managed to crawl out of the car,” he said. “If they hadn’t brought me back, there’s no way I would be here today.”
Hall was evacuated to Poland and spent months recovering at Brooke Army Medical Center outside of San Antonio, Texas. He tweeted that he lost half a leg, his foot on the other leg, and that his hearing was “pretty bad”.
On Thursday, he told Fox and Friends that he felt strong despite his serious injuries.
“I have one leg, I have no feet, I see through an eye, a functioning hand. I was burned all over and I feel stronger, more confident than ever,” Hall said.
‘NEVER GIVE UP’: Benjamin Hall details dramatic rescue and recovery in new memoir ‘Saved’ https://t.co/asVlOP47io pic.twitter.com/JoRD9frfbv
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HarperCollins Publishers announced Thursday that Hall’s Saved: A War Reporter’s Mission to Come Home will be released on March 14, the one-year anniversary of the Russian bombing raid that injured him.
According to HarperCollins, Hall will write about his past experiences in Syria and Afghanistan, among others, his decision to make a “last-ditch” return to a war zone when he agreed to report from Ukraine, and the extraordinary effort to save his life .
“With compelling accounts from the many people from multiple countries who banded together to bring him to safety, Hall offers a breathtaking glimpse into the complex teamwork and genuine perseverance that have made his life a mission,” it says in part in the publisher’s announcement.
Hall, 40, has also reported for The New York Times, the BBC and Esquire, among others. He lives in London with his wife and three daughters.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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