De oppresso liber

United States Army Special Forces distinctive unit insignia

De oppresso liber is the motto of the United States Army Special Forces.

Meaning

It is US Army tradition that the phrase is Latin for "[to free from oppression]" or "[to liberate the oppressed]".

Liber means not "to free" but simply the adjective "free", which, in the masculine singular form here used, may be interpreted as a noun, meaning "a free man"; while "oppressus" is not "oppression" but "overwhelmed, overthrown, overpowered, crushed." As it stands, the phrase might be translated "Out of the overthrown man, (comes/is made) the free man." (The structure resembles that of the motto "E pluribus unum": "Out of many, one.") Other translations, just as viable: "From a man caught, a man free," and "From the man seized, a man free."

This translation may have morphed over time to resemble a small portion of a famous St. Augustine quote:

The turbulent have to be corrected, The faint-hearted cheered up, The weak supported; The Gospel's opponents need to be refuted, Its insidious enemies guarded against; The unlearned need to be taught, The indolent stirred up, The argumentative checked; The proud must be put in their place, The desperate set on their feet, Those engaged in quarrels reconciled; The needy have to be helped, The oppressed to be liberated, The good to be encouraged, The bad to be tolerated; All must be loved.

Corripiendi sunt inquieti, pusillanimes consolandi, infirmi suscipiendi, contradicentes redarguendi, insidiantes cavendi, imperiti docendi, desidiosi excitandi, contentiosi cohibendi, superbientes reprimendi, desperantes erigendi, litigantes pacandi, inopes adiuvandi, oppressi liberandi, boni approbandi, mali tolerandi, omnes amandi.

Cf. Isaiah 1:17:

Learn to do well: seek judgment, relieve the oppressed judge for the fatherless, defend the widow.

discite benefacere quaerite iudicium subvenite oppresso judicate pupillo defendite viduam

Lineage

The phrase stems from the exploits of World War II Office of Strategic Services Jedburgh/Sussex Teams operating behind the lines in France. Colonel Aaron Bank, father of United States Army Special Forces, and his teams enabled the French Resistance to grow and oppose the occupying German Army. The unconventional warfare tactics of Colonel Bank differed from the conventional warfare tactics of the rest of the United States Army in that they included clandestine support for one side of an existing conflict and that they were subversive to the Nazi forces in power.

Sculpture

The sculpture America's Response Monument is subtitled De Oppresso Liber. It is a life-and-a-half scale bronze statue located in the West Street lobby of One World Financial Center opposite Ground Zero in New York City. Unofficially known as the Horse Soldier Statue, it is the first public monument dedicated to the United States Special Forces and commemorates the servicemen and women of America’s Special Operations response to 9/11, including those who fought in the early days of Operation Enduring Freedom, which led to the initial defeat of the Taliban in Afghanistan. It was conceived by a private citizen, sculpture Douwe Blumberg, and commissioned by an anonymous group of Wall Street bankers who lost friends in the 9/11 attacks. It was dedicated on November 11, 2011 in a ceremony led by Vice President Joe Biden and Lt. Gen. John Mulholland, commander of Special Operations Command.

External links

• De Oppresso Liber by Kentucky Senator Mitch Mcconnell