Sean Michael Lee, a former Army paratrooper who spent decades running toward global crises, died Sunday at 50 after battling esophageal cancer tied to his wartime service.
Lee served 20 years in the Army’s 82nd Airborne Division, deploying multiple times to Iraq and Afghanistan, and later helped evacuate thousands during the 2021 collapse of Afghanistan’s government as part of the nonprofit Save Our Allies. His death was confirmed in an obituary shared by Heritage Funeral & Cremation Services, which noted his cancer stemmed directly from exposure to military burn pits in Iraq and Afghanistan.
“He was, to his core, a paratrooper,” the obituary reads. “Long after he took off the uniform, the values forged there remained the organizing principles of his life: duty, loyalty, competence under pressure, and an unwavering commitment to the person beside him.”
Lee’s post-military career traced a path through some of the world’s most dangerous humanitarian flashpoints. In 2022, he was in Poland delivering supplies to Ukraine’s frontline during Russia’s invasion when he became instrumental in extracting Fox News correspondent Benjamin Hall, who had been severely injured in a Russian attack near Kyiv that killed two members of his crew.
“We got the call, we had just finished up a staff meeting with our folks back in the United States, and I can tell you that in about 90 minutes our guys were out the door and on the way,” Lee explained to the Daily Caller during a 2022 interview.
Sarah Verardo, a founder of The Independence Fund and close friend, said that Lee “spent his life running toward the crisis.” She detailed how he continued that pattern through multiple organizations after leaving the military.
“Whether evacuating Afghan combat interpreters and their families, helping establish field hospitals in Ukraine, or living out of his car to deliver aid in Western North Carolina, Sean went wherever he was needed most,” Verardo shared. “His service knew no boundaries, and he never wanted fanfare or credit. He simply lived the ethos of ‘send me.'”
Verardo’s husband, Sgt. Michael Verardo, had deployed with Lee to Afghanistan and later died from catastrophic combat injuries. Lee walked alongside him for years, and Verardo described how Lee became embedded in her family’s daily life for nearly a decade.
“Sean walked alongside my husband for years following his catastrophic combat injuries and through his death, and for the better part of a decade, he was a constant presence in the lives of my three girls,” she said. “He never missed a first day of school or a Halloween with us. Until his final breath, he remained that constant, living with us throughout his cancer battle and, even as his own world became smaller, still wanting to hear about dance recitals, science projects and all the ordinary details of their lives.”
She added that “service was never a job or an assignment” for Lee. “It was simply who he was.”
Former MMA fighter and Special Forces sniper Tim Kennedy posted a tribute on Instagram, writing, “I can’t even begin to explain what the world has just lost.” His message continued: “This country has lost one of the finest men ever to serve it.”
“Sean redefined the word service,” Kennedy added. “He did not just volunteer to put on the uniform and join the 82nd Airborne. He dedicated his entire life to other people. He put his life on the line more times than anyone can count. Wherever people needed help, you found Sean. Whenever I needed help, I found Sean.”
Lee’s military service included participation in the 2003 invasion of Iraq and time with Bravo Company in the 2-508 Parachute Infantry Regiment, a unit whose Afghanistan deployment was documented in Ben Kesling’s book “Bravo Company: An Afghanistan Deployment and its Aftermath.” Half the company received Purple Hearts. Both of Lee’s best friends from that deployment, Sgt. Michael Verardo and Sgt. Allen Thomas, died before him.
In 2024, Lee lived out of a tent in North Carolina while delivering aid to communities devastated by Hurricane Helene, his obituary noted. He also worked with wounded veterans through The Independence Fund and, most recently, served under Secretary Doug Collins at the US Department of Veterans Affairs.
His obituary offered a final accounting of his legacy: “Sean redefined the word service. He did not just volunteer to put on the uniform and join the 82nd Airborne. He dedicated his entire life to other people. He put his life on the line more times than anyone can count. Wherever people needed help, you found Sean. Whenever I needed help, I found Sean.”