Arlington National Cemetery has removed information from its website documenting the contributions of Black, Hispanic and female service members, including Medal of Honor recipients and other notable veterans.
The deletions follow President Donald Trump’s sweeping orders to eliminate diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives across the federal government, including within the military.
Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.), the top Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee, denounced the removal of historical content.
“The whole thing is deeply concerning,” Smith said. “Even if you have concerns about DEI, I’ve never seen a problem with how it was handled within the military.”
The cemetery, which holds the graves of approximately 400,000 veterans, was established during the Civil War on land once owned by Confederate General Robert E. Lee. Among those buried at Arlington are thousands of Black Union soldiers from the U.S. Colored Troops (USCT), including three who received the Medal of Honor.
Pages that once highlighted the stories of these men, along with military pioneers such as Gen. Colin Powell, the Tuskegee Airmen, and the women of the 6888th Central Postal Battalion, are now inaccessible. Content about Freedman’s Village, a settlement for formerly enslaved people that once existed on the Arlington Estate, has also been removed.
Visitors to the site now find broken links where information on Black, Hispanic, and female service members once existed. References to Latino military leaders, such as World War II bomber pilot Hector Santa Anna, have also disappeared.
Some information on women remains available, including entries on former Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and members of the Six Triple Eight battalion. However, those seeking these pages can only locate them through direct searches rather than being easily accessible on the cemetery’s website.
This isn’t the first time military history has been erased under Trump’s orders. Earlier this year, the Defense Department was forced to reinstate materials on the Tuskegee Airmen following public backlash after their removal.
Trump’s overhaul of military policies has intensified in his second term, including the removal of Gen. CQ Brown, the country’s first Black chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, a former Fox News host, has vowed to eliminate all DEI efforts, branding them “woke” policies.
Arlington National Cemetery issued a statement saying it was working to restore some content while ensuring compliance with Trump’s directives and orders from Hegseth.
According to the latest Defense Department report, 30% of the U.S. military’s 2 million active-duty and reserve personnel identify as part of a minority group, and one-fifth of service members are women.
One social media user emphasized the importance of African Americans’ contributions to military history.
“HISTORY OF US MILITARY CADENCES started by BLACK AMERICANS,” social media user Shan wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. “Every fiber and to the core the U.S.A. military was heavily influenced by colored troops. From the Buffalo soldiers to the inception of Memorial Day it all stems from Black Americans.
This is bullshit it’s your democrats putting false news out there. GO TRUMP.
It’s not bullshit!!! Look at the site .
Stars and Stripes, the military newspaper, has the same information. I think you need to look up the word bullshit. Look under R for Republican.
Go look it up yourself. I guess ignorance is a bliss for you.
So unfair to remove all history in the data base about blacks who served in the military and fighting for this country and removed from the data base! My Uncle died in Korean war and now his name is taken out of the data base at military cemetery in Hopewell, Va!