A City of Angels
Learning from NYC’s 270-plus war memorials
IT’S easy to sleepwalk through New York City without noticing everywhere around us the evidence of our military men and women’s ultimate sacrifice. Memorial Day, which many Americans view as the start of summer, is a good time for us to wake up.
Emanating from our very first war memorials — erected before the Revolutionary War — America now maintains thousands of them across the globe. Collectively, they tell the long and complicated story of our emergence on the world stage.
There are more than 270 war memorials in New York City alone. The newest was moved to its permanent site on the southwest corner of the World Trade Center on May 4. Known informally as the Horse Soldier Statue, it depicts a lone American special operator in Afghanistan, launching our offensive just after the 9/11 attacks in what has since become the longest war in our history.
The statue’s official name is “America’s Response Monument, De Oppresso Liber.” It was commissioned by a small group of bank executives who lost friends and loved ones at Ground Zero. Its rendering was funded by the Green Beret and Gary Sinise foundations and contributions by many private citizens.
According to the sculptor, Douwe Blumberg, “the image of the mounted warrior serves to weave a thread of continuity through our history as a people.” To some, the 16-foot statue draws upon an enduring American mythology of rugged individualism and the horseback taming of a wild land. There is irony here in considering the intense teamwork upon which military operations depend and the advanced technology and complicated alliances necessary in defeating the enemies we currently face.
Whatever one’s interpretation of the Horse Soldier, we shouldn’t fixate on the bronze and stone of this or any other statue on Memorial Day. It’s infinitely more important to understand and deeply feel the sentiments that motivated their creation. In doing so, we develop a clear view of the biggest threat facing America today: distraction and complacency in the body politic.
The total commitment and sacrifice of the mounted warrior stand in stark contrast to that dangerous mind-set and make for an appropriate memorial to those who have served in all branches of the armed services since 9/11.
Consider the Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Monument, dedicated in 1902 with President Teddy Roosevelt officiating. This Upper West Side structure honors the sacrifices of those who served in the Union forces during the Civil War. In doing so, it calls to mind a time when distraction and complacency were simply impossible among Americans, and its inscription speaks to this level of civic engagement: “To the memory of the brave soldiers and sailors who saved the Union.”
In 2016, we find ourselves at a crossroads. Though we’ve made many important strides as a country, we are very clearly a divided society, as the current presidential campaign illustrates so painfully. Memorial Day is the most important day of the year to remember the unity and service that have carried our country through its most trying days.
As you enjoy an extra day off and begin your summer this year, please also take a moment to reflect on the men and women who sacrificed everything in the hopes their service would provide us the security and opportunity our coun- try, at its best, continues to offer.
As we’ve heard many times before, we should look beyond the superficial observance of Memorial Day as a summer-blockbuster-and-barbecue day. Its true purpose is to pay our respects to those who have fallen in America’s wars. (In contrast to Veterans Day, which honors the service of those who made it back home.) Admittedly, this is a rather somber backdrop for a beach day or barbecue.
Our military operations have reached an unprecedented level of complexity. The controversy surrounding our foreign engagements seems matched by a weary acknowledgment that we’ve entered an era of perennial war.
Over the past 240 years, we’ve asked Americans to put aside their personal and political views while serving under arms. In this light, Memorial Day is a necessary reminder that service before self is a critical component of any successful society. But even when it’s not Memorial Day, the reminders — especially in New York City — are all around us.