"De Oppresso Liber" - A New Sculpture of American Special Forces Soldier on Horseback Unveiled Near One World Trade Center

A new 16-foot-tall bronze sculpture of a Special Operations soldier on horseback was unveiled last week at the World Trade Center site in Lower Manhattan. The bronze statue is a memorial to the troops who led the American invasion of Afghanistan in response to the September 11 attacks on the Twin Towers and the Pentagon. Known as “De Oppresso Liber,” a motto of the Army Special Forces, the statue honors Special Forces soldiers who rode horses across the rocky terrain of northern Afghanistan alongside operatives from the Central Intelligence Agency and members of the anti-Taliban coalition known as the Northern Alliance. The soldiers helped guide air attacks on Taliban positions and captured hundreds of enemy fighters. The statue is temporarily installed near One World Trade Center and the PATH train station.