On this 18th Anniversary of the September 11th, 2011 attacks, we as a country probably stand as divided as we have been since the 1860s, when it seems like just yesterday that we experienced a shared mourning and sense of unity as many of us will ever witness. But those who meant it when they vowed to “never forget” still exist, and are still trying to honor and help those affected.

In November 2017, Knife Magazine Publisher Mark Zalesky and Military Editor Frank Trzaska traveled to New York City for a memorial event, hosted by Case and Sons, where 3 very special Case v42 daggers were presented to the 9/11 Memorial and Museum. The daggers were forged from steel reclaimed from the ruins of the World Trade Center.

Frank wrote about the event in the January 2018 issue of Knife Magazine.

The three knives made from World Trade Center steel were encased in wooden presentation boxes with etched glass panels highlighting the Twin Towers, the Task Force Dagger insignia and the sculpture of The Horse Soldier that sits outside the 9/11 Memorial in New York City. In the Task Force Dagger logo we find different symbols of Special Operations and the history of unconventional warfare. We have the V-42 fighting knife representing the OSS and Jedburgh Teams of World War Two that the task force would be emulating, and the First Special Service Force as the ultimate unconventional force. The V-42 knife is front and center in the Task Force Dagger logo to show the lineage and history of Special Operations. The Eagle reflects Task Force Dagger’s ability to conduct swift, powerful and precise targeting against the terrorists and oppressors. The eagle and the dagger combine to reflect the unit’s history and connection to unconventional warfare to succeed. These features reflect our strength, history, and honor. Across the top of the glass is etched SEPTEMBER 11 MEMORIAL V-42 and on the bottom of the wood case it has DE OPPRESSO LIBER, “to free the oppressed,” which is the Special Forces motto.

The World Trade Center steel incorporated into the V-42s was originally presented by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey to the United States Army Special Operations Command. Lieutenant General Mulholland, a senior officer in the United States Army and former Associate Director of the Central Intelligence Agency for Military Affairs, coordinated the delivery of the recovered World Trade Center steel to the Case factory in Bradford, Pennsylvania, and commissioned the development of the memorial knives.

(L to R) Lieutenant General Mulholland, former Associate Director of the Central Intelligence Agency for Military Affairs, made the presentations to Colonel Lewis Powers, Commander of the U.S. Army’s 5th Special Forces Group; Toni Hiley, Director of the CIA Museum and Alice Greenwald, President and CEO of the National September 11 Memorial & Museum.

You can read Frank’s complete article by clicking the blue button below to launch the flipbook. This archive post has been made available to everyone.