The Pentagon said Monday that internet pages honoring a Black Medal of Honor winner and Japanese American service members were mistakenly taken down — but staunchly defended its overall campaign to strip out content singling out the contributions by women and minority groups, which the Trump administration considers “DEI.”
A Defense Department webpage honoring Black Medal of Honor recipient Army Maj. Gen. Charles Calvin Rogers was taken down last week. The department actually temporarily changed the web address to insert “deimedal-of-honor”, which then led to a “404 - Page not found" message, according to a screenshot captured by the Internet Archive on March 15.
A U.S. official said the website was mistakenly taken down during an automated removal process.
But it's not the only one. Thousands of pages honoring contributions by women and minority groups have been taken down in efforts to delete material promoting diversity, equity and inclusion — a step that Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell defended at a briefing Monday.
“I think the president and the secretary have been very clear on this — that anybody that says in the Department of Defense that diversity is our strength is, is frankly, incorrect,” Parnell said. “Our shared purpose and unity are our strength. And I say this as somebody who led a combat platoon in Afghanistan that was probably the most diverse platoon that you could possibly imagine.”
But it isn't resonating that way with veterans or communities who honor those groups — and raises questions as to whether the administration's fixation on getting rid of images that highlight the contributions of women, minorities and members of the LGBTQ community will ultimately backfire and hurt recruiting. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and President Donald Trump have already removed the only female four-star officer on the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Navy Adm. Lisa Franchetti, and removed its Black Chairman, Gen. CQ Brown Jr.
“The full throttled attack on Black leadership, dismantling of civil rights protections, imposition of unjust anti-DEI regulations, and unprecedented historical erasure across the Department of Defense is a clear sign of a new Jim Crow being propagated by our Commander in Chief,” said Richard Brookshire, co-CEO of the Black Veterans Project, a nonprofit advocating for the elimination of racial inequities among uniformed service members.
Rogers, a native of Fire Creek, West Virginia, was awarded the Medal of Honor in 1970 by then-President Richard Nixon, becoming the highest-ranking Black service member to receive the country’s greatest military honor. He was wounded three times while serving in Vietnam. Rogers joined the U.S. Army in 1951, six months before the racial desegregation of the U.S. military.
He remained outspoken throughout his life about the discrimination Black service members faced. In a 1975 interview with the Daily Press in Newport News, Virginia, Rogers described how difficult it was for them to rise into leadership positions and said the struggle for equal treatment in the military wasn’t over. “We still have and will have what the Department of Defense describes as institutional racism,” he said.
The story of Rogers' web page removal was first reported by The Guardian. It was back online Monday night.
Another page that was removed featured the World War II Japanese-American 442nd Regimental Combat Team, U.S. Army spokesperson Christopher Surridge said Monday.
According to the Army, the 4,000 men who made up the unit were mostly American-born children of Japanese immigrants, known as Nisei soldiers. Their losses were so great the whole unit had to be replaced nearly 3.5 times, according to the Army. In total, about 14,000 men served, ultimately earning 9,486 Purple Hearts, 21 Medals of Honor and an unprecedented eight Presidential Unit Citations.
But their story was removed “in accordance with a Presidential Executive Order and guidance from the Secretary of Defense” when the service took down a website celebrating Asian American and Pacific Islander heritage.
“The Army is tirelessly working through content on that site and articles related to the 442nd Infantry Regiment and Nisei Soldiers will be republished to better align with current guidance,” Surridge said in a statement. “The Army remains committed to sharing the stories of our Soldiers, their units, and their sacrifice."
The mostly Japanese American segregated unit was highly decorated despite facing prejudice after Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor. After the removal of the 442nd page was reported by the Honolulu Advertiser and other media outlets, the U.S. Army’s website prominently displayed a page with a “spotlight” label Monday featuring the unit's history.
After Japan's Dec. 7, 1941, attack on Pearl Harbor, Japanese Americans were viewed with suspicion and initially prevented from enlisting for military service. Nearly 110,000 were sent to internment camps. Congress presented 442nd members and other Japanese American veterans of World War II its highest civilian honor — the Congressional Gold Medal — in 2011.
The erasure of the 442nd content also drew congressional ire. Democrat Hawaii Rep. Ed Case wrote Friday in a letter asking for the pages to be restored that “it is clear that the Army is intentionally removing these websites based solely on race without any consideration of or respect for historical context.”
The Japanese American Citizens League also denounced the decision, calling it “an attempt to erase the legacy of thousands of soldiers who gave everything for a country that doubted them.”
Bill Wright, whose father was an officer in the 442nd, said the page's removal is just one example of what’s happening across Department of Defense websites reflective of current politics. “We don’t have any control over that except at the ballot box,” he said, adding that it won’t deter him and others from continuing to educate people about the unit.
Mark Matsunaga, a former Honolulu journalist whose Japanese American father and uncles served in World War II, said he was grateful to see the 442nd's webpage restored, but that “one act doesn’t solve the larger problem.”
“They’re still eliminating all kinds of content — photos, articles, social media posts — that all help Americans to understand how diverse their military is,” he said. “Clearly this is part of an attempt to whitewash history.”
Pentagon press secretary Sean Parnell speaks to the media in the Pentagon Press Briefing Room, Monday, March 17, 2025, at the Pentagon in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
FILE - Bronze Star Medals are seen before being presented during a ceremony to Japanese American World War II veterans of the 100th Infantry Battalion, 442nd Regimental Combat Team at the Washington Hilton in Washington, Nov. 1, 2011. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, file)
This U.S. Army image provided by the U.S. Dept. of Defense shows Medal of Honor winner US Army Major General Charles Calvin Rogers. (U.S. Army via AP)
The United Nations says an international staffer was killed and five others wounded in a strike in the Gaza Strip. Jorge Moreira da Silva, head of the U.N. Office for Project Services, said the cause of Wednesday’s blast remains unclear but that an explosive ordnance was “dropped or fired.” He did not provide the nationalities of those killed and wounded.
The attack came a day after Israel carried out a wave of heavy strikes that killed over 400 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, shattering the ceasefire with Hamas.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel said the wave of strikes Tuesday was “only the beginning” and that Israel would press ahead until it achieves all of its war aims — destroying Hamas and freeing all hostages held by the militant group since its Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel ignited the fighting.
Gaza’s Health Ministry said at least 436 people, including 183 children and 94 women, have been killed since Israel launched airstrikes Tuesday. Zaher al-Waheidi, head of the ministry’s records department, described it as the deadliest day in Gaza since the start of the war. Its records do not distinguish between civilians and combatants.
Here's the latest:
The clashes along the Lebanon-Syria border, where smuggling is widespread, was the worst fighting there since the fall of Syrian President Bashar Assad’s government in December.
The fighting happened after Syria’s interim government accused militants from Lebanon’s Hezbollah militant group of crossing into Syria on Saturday, abducting and killing three soldiers. Hezbollah denied involvement and some other reports pointed to local clans in the border region that are not directly affiliated with Hezbollah but have been involved in cross-border smuggling. The Lebanese government said the three Syrians killed were smugglers.
The Lebanese Health Ministry said seven people in Lebanon were killed in the fighting, and 52 others were wounded. Four Syrian journalists embedded with the Syrian army were lightly wounded after an artillery shell fired from the Lebanese side of the border hit their position.
An international United Nations staffer was killed and five others were wounded in a strike on a U.N. guesthouse in the Gaza Strip, a U.N. official said Wednesday.
Jorge Moreira da Silva, head of the U.N. Office for Project Services, declined to say who carried out the strike but said the explosive ordnance was “dropped or fired” and the blast was not accidental or related to demining activity. UNOPS operates the mechanism tracking aid trucks into Gaza, does demining and helps bring fuel in.
He did not provide the nationalities of those killed and wounded.
The Israeli military, which has carried out a heavy wave of airstrikes since early Tuesday, denied earlier reports that it had targeted the U.N. compound.
But Moreira da Silva said strikes had hit near the compound on Monday and struck it directly on Tuesday and again on Wednesday, when the staffer was killed. He said the agency had contacted the Israeli military after the first strike and confirmed that it was aware of the facility’s location.
“Israel knew this was a U.N. premise, that people were living, staying and working there,” he said.
The Gaza Health Ministry says at least 436 people, mostly women and children, have been killed since Israel launched a wave of heavy airstrikes early Tuesday.
The ministry said another 678 people have been wounded in the strikes, which continued into Wednesday but at a lower intensity.
The Israeli military says it only targets militants and blames civilian deaths on Hamas because it operates in densely populated areas.
The ministry said at least 183 children and 94 women have been killed since the strikes began early Tuesday. Its records do not distinguish between civilians and combatants.
The Israeli military has denied striking a United Nations compound in central Gaza.
Gaza’s Health Ministry said an Israeli strike on a U.N. building in Gaza on Wednesday wounded five international staffers.
There was no immediate comment from U.N. officials.
“Contrary to reports, the (Israeli military) did not strike a U.N. compound” in the central city of Deir al-Balah, the army said in a statement.
French President Emmanuel Macron said Israel’s airstrikes are “tragic step backwards” for the Palestinian people and for Gaza, and for Israeli hostages and their families.
Macron, speaking alongside Jordan’s King Abdullah II on a visit to France, called for an immediate end to hostilities and resumption of negotiations including with the U.S. administration toward a permanent ceasefire and the release of all hostages.
The two leaders were also expected to discuss the need to allow humanitarian aid into Gaza and restoring access to water and electricity in the Palestinian territory, Macron’s office said.
Malaysia said it will accept 15 Palestinians who were released from Israeli jails and exiled as part of the January ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.
Foreign Minister Mohamad Hasan said in remarks published Wednesday in The Star newspaper that the move was a small contribution from Malaysia, a staunch supporter of the Palestinian cause, to ensure peace in Gaza.
Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil told local media that security agencies would strictly monitor the Palestinians’ movement once they arrive.
Lebanon’s state news agency said a U.N. peacekeeper was wounded when a mine exploded in the country's south.
National News Agency did not give further details about the blast between the villages of Zibqine and Yater, near the border with Israel.
Andrea Tenenti, a spokesman for the U.N. peacekeeping force known as UNIFIL, confirmed that a peacekeeper was wounded during an operational activity and was taken to a Beirut hospital for surgery.
The Gaza Health Ministry says an Israeli strike has wounded five international U.N. workers.
It says they were taken to Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Hospital in central Gaza after their headquarters was struck on Wednesday.
It was not clear which U.N. body they were affiliated with. There was no immediate comment from U.N. spokespeople or the Israeli military.
Israel launched a wave of airstrike across Gaza on Tuesday, killing over 400 Palestinians, according to the ministry. Israel says it targeted Hamas militants.
Thousands of Israelis marched in Jerusalem on Wednesday to protest a resumption of the war in the Gaza Strip, fearing it could further endanger some two dozen hostages held by Hamas.
A sea of Israeli flags could be seen outside the Israeli parliament a day after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu shattered a fragile ceasefire by launching heavy strikes on Gaza.
Families and supporters of the hostages fear renewed fighting could be a death sentence for their loved ones in captivity. The hostages “are waiting for us to take them out and to bring them home, but war will not do it. Only negotiations will do it,” protester Alon Shirizly said.
Hamas is still holding 59 hostages, including 24 who are believed to be alive.
The demonstrators are also protesting Netanyahu’s plan to fire the head of Israel’s internal security agency, the latest in a series of moves that his critics view as an assault on Israeli democracy.
A government statement on Wednesday said Itamar Ben-Gvir, leader of the ultranationalist Jewish Power party, regained his portfolio as national security minister. He had left the coalition in January to protest the ceasefire with Hamas.
His return strengthens Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition ahead of a crucial budget vote this month and improves its chances of surviving until the next scheduled elections in October 2026.
Ben-Gvir supports the full resumption of the war with the aim of annihilating Hamas, depopulating Gaza through what he refers to as the voluntary migration of Palestinians and rebuilding Jewish settlements there.
An injured United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) worker is brought into al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital following what the U.N. described as a strike in which an explosive ordnance was "dropped or fired" in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza, Wednesday, March 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
Israelis march on a highway toward Jerusalem to protest Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's plans to dismiss the head of the Shin Bet internal security service, on Wednesday, March 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)
Smoke rises following an Israeli bombardment in the Gaza Strip, as seen from southern Israel, Wednesday, March 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)
An injured United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) worker is treated at the al-Aqsa Martyrs hospital after an explosion in Deir al-Balah in central Gaza, Wednesday March 19, 2025.(AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
The body of United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) worker is taken into the al-Aqsa Martyrs hospital after an explosion in Deir al-Balah in central Gaza, Wednesday March 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
A view of destroyed buildings by Israeli bombardments in the northern Gaza Strip as seen from southern Israel, Wednesday, March 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)
An Israeli Apache helicopter fires towards the Gaza Strip as seen from southern Israel, Wednesday, March 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)
Israelis march in a protest against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his plans to dismiss the head of the Shin Bet internal security service, in Jerusalem on Wednesday, March 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)
Israeli tanks at a position near the Gaza border in southern Israel, Wednesday, March 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)
In this image made from a video released by the Israeli Government Press Office, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gives a statement Tuesday, March 18, 2025, in Tel Aviv, Israel. (Israeli Government Press Office via AP)
People carry the bodies of Palestinians killed in the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip as they are brought for burial at Al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir al-Balah, Wednesday, March 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
People carry the bodies of Palestinians killed in the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip as they are brought for burial at Al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir al-Balah, Wednesday, March 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
Israelis march on a highway toward Jerusalem to protest Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's plans to dismiss the head of the Shin Bet internal security service, on Wednesday, March 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)
Israelis march on a highway toward Jerusalem to protest Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's plans to dismiss the head of the Shin Bet internal security service, on Wednesday, March 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)
Palestinians inspect their damaged house following an Israeli bombardment in Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip on Wednesday, March 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
Mourners pray over the bodies of Palestinians killed in the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip as they are brought for burial at Al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir al-Balah, Wednesday, March 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
