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The untold story of a Cahokia horse soldier

One of the of the 12 men featured in "12 Strong" is from Cahokia.
Actor Chris Hemsworth poses with Cahokia native Steve Kofron and family.

CAHOKIA, Ill. — They were outnumbered and outgunned. Yet they risked their lives following the worst terror attack in U.S. history. The new movie "12 Strong" tells the true declassified story of 12 brave Americans sent to Afghanistan after 9/11.

One of the of the 12 men featured in "12 Strong" is from Cahokia. Steve Kofron was part of Task Force Dagger. It was the first Special Forces team deployed to Afghanistan after 9/11. While Steve and his team fought to take down the Taliban, they rode horses to get around and became known as horse soldiers. The movie is all about their experiences. Actor Geoff Stults plays Kofron in the movie. Chris Hemsworth has the lead role.

"12 Strong" premieres Friday, but Kofron's sister, Tammy Kofron Bracken, got a sneak peek Thursday at a theater in Farmington.

"He has always been the kind of brother you can be proud of but to think that he and his team are, their story is being told, is so exciting," Kofron Bracken said.

She says, before the movie, many people didn't realize the elite team existed. Until a year and a half ago, she didn't either.

"In special forces, they can't really say where they've been or what they've done, and we understood that," Kofron Bracken said. "He mentioned one time, he showed me a picture of him on a horse. I thought, 'Oh that's pretty cool,' but I had no idea what that referenced."

In the movie, you'll hear his story, but you won't actually hear his name. It was changed from Steve Kofron to Sean Coffers.

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