A webpage honoring Iwo Jima veteran removed by the Pentagon in its anti-diversity frenzy

The iconic photo of the flag raised at Iwo Jima, a symbol of American sacrifice during World War II, has been targeted by the Pentagon’s DEI purge. The page honoring Ira Hayes, a Native American Marine present in the image, has been removed from the official archives.

Since Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth took office, the Pentagon has launched a massive operation to remove Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) related content, deleting many pages honoring minority or female military personnel.

Pages dedicated to Major General Charles Calvin Rogers, an African American recipient of the Medal of Honor, and the 442nd Japanese-American Regiment of World War II were removed, then partially restored following criticism.

The articles about the American ‘code talkers’, heroes of cryptography during the two world wars, have been deleted. Their essential contribution to the American military success has thus temporarily disappeared from the digital archives of the Department of Defense.

The pages honoring the Tuskegee Airmen, the first african american pilots of the US Air Force, were also removed. Their role in the fight against military racism was erased, before being partially restored under public pressure.

Images of Jeannie Leavitt, the first female fighter pilot, and the first female Marines have been removed. Pete Hegseth, opposed to the integration of women in combat, believes the military should focus on strength, not diversity, thus marginalizing female contributions in American military history.

Content related to Black History Month, presenting the contributions of African American soldiers, has been removed, fueling the outrage of many veterans and associations who denounce an attempt to erase essential memories.

An image of the Enola Gay bomber, used in Hiroshima, was removed due to its name, interpreted as related to DEI because of the word ‘Gay’. This removal illustrates the extreme and sometimes absurd approach of the current purge.

The Pentagon has also modified its databases, removing filters that allowed searching for content related to discrimination or minorities, which limits access to essential information for military history.

These measures, imposed under the direction of Pete Hegseth, are part of the anti-DEI policy decreed by President Trump. They aim to remodel the American military memory, by excluding the contributions of women and minorities.

This censorship policy has sparked growing protests, particularly from veterans and military officials, who believe that erasing this history undermines the army’s core values and harms national cohesion.