US Military Faces Backlash for Erasing Stories of Minority Heroes

From erasing the stories of Navajo "code talkers" on the Pentagon website to demolishing a Black Lives Matter mural in Washington, US President Donald Trump's assault on diversity across the United States government is dismantling decades of racial justice programmes.

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WASHINGTON - From erasing the stories of Navajo "code talkers" on the Pentagon website to demolishing a Black Lives Matter mural in Washington, US President Donald Trump's assault on diversity across the United States government is dismantling decades of racial justice programmes.

Delivering on a campaign promise, the Republican billionaire made it one of his first acts in office to terminate all federal government diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programmes, which he said led to "illegal and immoral discrimination".

The crackdown on DEI initiatives at the Pentagon has been broad, ranging from a ban on recruiting transgender troops - a move stayed by a court this week - to removing vast troves of documents and images from its website.

Earlier in March, Civil War historian Kevin M. Levin reported that Arlington National Cemetery had begun to wipe its website of the histories of Black, Hispanic and women war veterans.

"It's a sad day when our own military is forced to turn its back on sharing the stories of the brave men and women, who have served this country with honor," he wrote on his Substack.

"This insanity must stop."

References to war heroes, military firsts, and even notable African Americans were among the swathe of images and articles marked for deletion, according to a database obtained by the Associated Press.