Glen Doherty, Hero SEAL went down saving his buddies

A former Navy SEAL heroically gave his life trying to protect Ambassador Christopher Stevens and other Americans during the deadly attack on the US consulate in Benghazi.

Glen Doherty, 42 — a pilot, expert skier and triathlete who became at SEAL at age 26 — was working as a private security operative when armed Islamist thugs stormed the facility Tuesday night, his brother Greg Doherty told The Post.

“He’s a hero,” said Greg Doherty, 43, of Kensington, Calif.

“That’s what he did for a living. He was real down to earth, but he was fearless in everything he did.

“He was a person who would defend his friends, anyone who needed it. That’s why he did this job. He was good at it.

“He thought it was better him doing this than anyone else.”

Doherty’s sister, Kate Quigley, 39, of Marblehead, Mass., said it was no surprise her brother made the ultimate sacrifice.

“I am very proud of him. In my heart and mind, I know he died protecting people, just like he always did. He really is a hero,” Quigley said.

Greg Doherty said he and his siblings were raised to be athletic and tough by their dad, Ben Doherty, 76, a former amateur boxing champ and Massachusetts boxing commissioner in the ’90s.

Their mom, Barbara, 78, added lessons in kindness.

“Glen was a balance of that hardworking toughness and kindness,” Greg said.

The motorcycle-riding Doherty wrestled in high school, graduated from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and lived it up as a “ski bum” in Utah and a “beach bum” in San Diego, his brother said.

He turned himself into a triathlete, and in 1995 enlisted in the Navy, hoping to join the elite SEALs.

The Encinitas, Calif., resident co-wrote a 2010 book, “Navy SEAL Sniper: An Intimate Look at the Sniper of the 21st Century,” and had completed dozens of missions in the Middle East as a sniper and paramedic.

After leaving the Navy in 2006, he worked as a private security contractor for the United States, handling secret missions in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Libya and Mexico.

The brothers last spoke about two weeks ago.

“We told each other, ‘I love you,’ And those were his last words to me: ‘I love you,’ ” Greg Doherty said.