I'm an Army veteran. Trump's attempts to erase our history at Arlington sicken me.
As a U.S. Army veteran who served from 1992 to 2007, I am compelled to voice my profound dismay over recent actions by the Department of Defense under Secretary Pete Hegseth. The erasure of Medgar Evers – a World War II veteran and civil rights martyr – from the Arlington National Cemetery website is not just an affront to his legacy but a blatant attempt to rewrite history.
Now, as public outcry mounts, the DOD is claiming that some of the erased content will be reinstated. But let's be clear: This backtracking does not absolve the harm already done. With this administration's previous actions, misdirects and outright lies, they no longer get the benefit of the doubt on 'mistakes.'
They are either retreating from these purges because of backlash or because multiple and major mistakes were made, which raises troubling questions about senior administration officials' competence and error-correction oversight.
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Medgar Evers exemplified the highest ideals of our nation. After serving honorably in World War II, he returned home to Mississippi to fight for the civil rights of African Americans, ultimately sacrificing his life in this pursuit. His assassination in 1963 by a white supremacist marked a pivotal moment in our nation's journey toward equality.
To erase his contributions is to deny the very progress he died to achieve.
I visited his grave during the height of the take-a-knee protests that saw NFL star Colin Kaepernick lose his career over speech protected by the First Amendment. Raising one's voice in the face of tyranny and oppression is a fundamental American value.
The idea that Secretary Hegseth would have the audacity to attempt to erase a war hero and civil rights icon like Evers is a symptom of the depraved corruption and hate at the core of this administration.
This action aligns disturbingly with Secretary Hegseth's broader agenda to undermine diversity, equity and inclusion within our armed forces.
Hegseth is willfully disregarding the sacrifices of countless veterans of color by erasing the legacies of Black, Latino and women service members.
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Retired Air Force Lt. Col. Jennifer Cannon's story about her reaching 1,000 combat hours in the F-15E Strike Eagle was erased from DOD's websites.
The Navajo Code Talkers of World War II were also purged from Defense Department websites, only to be restored after another outcry.
Content related to the Tuskegee Airmen, the legendary Black fighter pilots who played a pivotal role in desegregating the U.S. military, has also been deleted, despite assurances from the DOD their history would be preserved.
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Such decisions are not merely administrative; they are emblematic of a deeper, more insidious attempt to whitewash our military's history. The contributions of Black, Hispanic, Indigenous, Asian American and other minority service members have been integral to our nation's defense from the very beginning. To erase or diminish their legacy is to perpetuate the very injustices they fought against, both abroad and at home.
As veterans, we swore an oath to uphold the Constitution and defend the principles of justice and equality. It is our duty to stand against policies that seek to divide and erase.
Secretary Hegseth's actions – whether deliberate or using bureaucratic red tape as an excuse – are a disservice to the values we hold dear and to the memory of heroes like Medgar Evers. We must remain vigilant and vocal in preserving the true and inclusive history of our armed forces.
Jose Vasquez is a U.S. Army veteran and the executive director of Common Defense.
You can read diverse opinions from our USA TODAY columnists and other writers on the Opinion front page, on X, formerly Twitter, @usatodayopinion and in our Opinion newsletter.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: I'm a veteran. Trump's war on DEI is erasing US history | Opinion
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