Horse Soldier: Chris Spence on 9/11, Afghanistan, and the Photo That Became History
Twenty-five years after the September 11 attacks, host Chris Meek sits down with retired Master Sergeant Chris Spence, a Green Beret who was among the first Americans on the ground in Afghanistan.
In the weeks after 9/11, Spence deployed with 5th Special Forces Group as part of Operational Detachment Charlie 53, working alongside ODA 595 and Afghan Northern Alliance fighters across some of the most unforgiving mountain terrain on earth. They often traveled by horseback, calling in American air power against Taliban and al-Qaeda positions. A photograph Spence took of his teammates on horseback became one of the defining images of America's response to 9/11, was displayed by then-Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, and helped inspire the America's Response Monument, the Horse Soldier statue that stands near the World Trade Center site today.
Spence talks about where he was the morning of the attacks, what it took to build trust with Afghan fighters he had just met, the piece of the World Trade Center his unit carried into the country, and what books and Hollywood got right and wrong about the mission. He also reflects on the 2021 withdrawal, the question of whether it was all worth it, and how he rebuilt a sense of purpose after 25 years in uniform.
It's a conversation about courage, adaptability, and taking the next step forward when the mountain ahead looks impossible to cross.
About Chris Spence: Soon after the terrorist attacks, another chapter of the September 11, 2001 story was already beginning as a small group of U.S. Army Special Forces soldiers that included Master Sergeant Christopher Spence were on the ground in Afghanistan. The members of that group, known as Operational Detachment Alpha 595 and Operational Detachment Charlie 53 worked alongside Afghan Northern Alliance fighters across unforgiving mountainous terrain, sometimes on horseback, to help direct devastating American air power against Taliban and al-Qaeda positions. Thanks to a photo taken by Chris, the men became known as the Horse Soldiers and their extraordinary mission would inspire books, a major motion picture and the America’s Response Monument. That photo by Sergeant Spence of his fellow soldiers on horseback became one of the iconic images of America’s response to 9/11.