US Defense Department removes war hero images as part of DEI purge

The US Defence Department is erasing from its archives thousands of images of diversity, equity and inclusion to comply with White House orders to end those programmes across federal government.

References to a World War II Medal of Honour recipient, the Enola Gay aircraft that dropped an atomic bomb on Japan and the first women to pass Marine infantry training are among thousands of photos and online posts marked for deletion, according to a database obtained by The Associated Press.

Around 10,000 images and stories have been examined and identified for removal but it's thought thousands more in the database could eventually be removed from every military branch.

The vast majority of the Pentagon purge targets women and minorities, including notable milestones made in the military. It also removes a large number of posts that mention various commemorative months — such as those for Black and Hispanic people and women.

US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth had given the military until Wednesday to remove content that highlights diversity efforts in its ranks following President Donald Trump’s executive order.

But a review of the database also underscores the confusion that has swirled among agencies about what to remove following Trump's order.

In some cases, photos seemed to be flagged for removal simply because their file included the word ”gay,” including service members with that last name and an image of the B-29 aircraft Enola Gay, which dropped the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan, during World War II.

Several photos of an Army Corps of Engineers dredging project in California were marked for deletion, apparently because a local engineer in the photo had the last name Gay. And a photo of Army Corps biologists was on