Although Ryan's death was tragic, he truly died a hero. On Saturday, October 13, 2012, in an effort to raid a house in northern Afghanistan to search for a High Value Individual, a team of Special Operations were attacked by intense machine fire as soon as their helicopters landed. Addressing the threat, Ryan Savard rushed towards the gun fire to defend his teammates and allow them to safely get off of the helicopter. In doing this, he was shot and killed. Although Ryan lost his life, he truly died a hero while saving his teammates.