These four American Green Berets were killed last fall when their patrol was ambushed in Niger. The Defense Department launched an investigation into what happened. But helmet camera footage from one of the soldiers allowed us to reconstruct some of the attack. It’s the morning of Oct. 4, 2017. A convoy of around eight American and Nigerien army vehicles leaves the village of Tongo Tongo after a mission in the area. They’re quickly ambushed by militants loyal to Islamic State. Footage of that fight shows that two American vehicles are separated from the convoy. The others had fled or were hit. We see seven soldiers taking cover. The attackers are somewhere in this area. An American soldier we believe to be Staff Sergeant Jeremiah Johnson wearing a helmet camera enters the white vehicle and drives it a short distance. He steps out and begins firing towards the tree line. Then, he runs for cover behind the white vehicle, and the video cuts to a new scene. Next, we only see the black car and three soldiers — Staff Sergeants Johnson, Wright, and Black. The white car has disappeared, and we don’t know how much time has elapsed. Wright drives the car toward the mark of a red smoke grenade. The smoke could be to mask their movements from the militants, or to mark their position for supporting units. Johnson, taking cover at the rear, fires toward the tree line. After they’ve reached the smoke, there’s a cut in the video. In the next scene, the red smoke has cleared. The car begins to move again, when Johnson and Black fall. Black is unresponsive. Johnson regains his footing. He moves forward and starts searching. It could be for support or for the enemy. Wright then drags Black to cover, behind the car. He aims back towards the treeline. The scene ends. The militants are closing in. We don’t know how much time has passed here, but Wright changes his direction of fire. He and Johnson begin running without covering each other. This suggests they’re about to be overrun. The situation is too desperate. There are more edits to the video, but we’re able to map their final steps. Johnson is seriously wounded and falls, but then moves about another 40 feet. Militant fire seems to be coming from this area. Wright stops running and shoots. A short time later, two armed militants appear on screen. Johnson appears to be unconscious. Still, he is shot by the militants at close range. Staff Sergeant Wright dies just feet away. For them, the ambush is over.