Latest news with #ArlingtonCemetery
The Independent
4 days ago
- Politics
- The Independent
Confederate monument being restored on Hegseth's anti-woke quest will cost $10M, military says
A U.S. Army official revealed Wednesday that the restoration of a Confederate memorial at Arlington National Cemetery is set to cost about $10 million over two years. The official added that the monument would include panels that would share the context of the history behind the memorial, which will be refurbished and its base replaced. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced the return of the monument on social media on Tuesday evening. 'I'm proud to announce that Moses Ezekiel's beautiful and historic sculpture — often referred to as 'The Reconciliation Monument' — will be rightfully ... returned to Arlington National Cemetery near his burial site,' Hegseth wrote on X. 'It never should have been taken down by woke lemmings. Unlike the Left, we don't believe in erasing American history—we honor it.' This comes less than two years after it was taken down following the recommendation of an independent commission. The monument, which was put up in 1914, was created by Ezekiel, a sculptor and Confederate veteran. The monument includes a classical female figure, which represents the South, along with sanitized depictions of slavery. The commission, mandated by Congress, stated in 2022 that the memorial, as well as a number of other military assets referencing the Confederacy, should be removed or renamed. The commission vice chair, retired Army Brig. Gen. Ty Seidule, said the group thought the memorial to be "problematic from top to bottom." In addition to the sanitized depictions of slavery, the monument also featured a Latin phrase stating that the South's secession from the Union was a worthy 'lost cause.' The false interpretation of the reasons behind the outbreak of the Civil War suggests that it was a conflict about the power of the federal government rather than slavery. Hegseth has gone to great lengths to go against the recommendations of the commission by changing back the names of several Army bases to their names with connections to the Confederacy, by highlighting different people. After the recommendations by the commission, Fort Bragg in North Carolina, named after Confederate Gen. Braxton Bragg, was renamed Fort Liberty. Hegseth changed it back to Fort Bragg in February, but by honoring Army Pfc. Roland Bragg who received a Silver Star and Purple Heart for his courage during the Battle of the Bulge in World War II. President Donald Trump issued an executive order in March entitled "Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History,' which pushed back against efforts to reinterpret U.S. history. "Rather than fostering unity and a deeper understanding of our shared past, the widespread effort to rewrite history deepens societal divides and fosters a sense of national shame,' it said. The order claimed that the Smithsonian museums had "come under the influence of a divisive, race-centered ideology.' It also ordered the Interior Department to reinstate statues and displays that had been "removed or changed to perpetuate a false reconstruction of American history, inappropriately minimize the value of certain historical events or figures, or include any other improper partisan ideology." In the same vein, the National Park Service announced Monday that it would return the statue of Confederate brigadier General Albert Pike to its previous position in Judiciary Square in the nation's capital after it was pulled down amid Black Lives Matter protests in 2020.
Fox News
5 days ago
- Politics
- Fox News
Hegseth announces return of Confederate memorial to Arlington National Cemetery, removed by 'woke lemmings'
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced Tuesday that "The Reconciliation Monument," a Confederate memorial, will be returning to Arlington National Cemetery. "I'm proud to announce that Moses Ezekiel's beautiful and historic sculpture — often referred to as "The Reconciliation Monument" — will be rightfully returned to Arlington National Cemetery near his burial site," Hegseth wrote on X. The monument was removed in 2023 amid moves by the Pentagon to remove statues and rename military installations honoring Confederate figures and moved into a Defense Department storage facility in Virginia. "It never should have been taken down by woke lemmings. Unlike the Left, we don't believe in erasing American history—we honor it," Hegseth said. At the time the monument was removed, GOP lawmakers said it does not honor the Confederacy, but instead, commemorates reconciliation and national unity. The memorial was unveiled in 1914 by then-President Woodrow Wilson, after being commissioned by the United Daughters of the Confederacy. Congress had authorized the reinternment of Confederate remains to Arlington National Cemetery just 14 years prior. Ezekiel was a Jewish American sculptor who fought for the Confederacy during the Civil War. After the war, General Robert E. Lee encouraged him to become a sculptor, and he attended the Virginia Military College and studied anatomy, according to the Smithsonian American Art Museum. He is also buried with honors at Arlington.
South China Morning Post
26-05-2025
- Politics
- South China Morning Post
Trump honours fallen soldiers at Arlington, calling them ‘America's best and bravest'
US President Donald Trump honoured fallen service members during a Memorial Day ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery on Monday, calling them 'great, great warriors' who were 'America's best and bravest'. 'We just revere their incredible legacy,' Trump said. 'We salute them in their eternal and everlasting glory. And we continue our relentless pursuit of America's destiny as we make our nation stronger, prouder, freer, and greater than ever before.' Trump's speech veered briefly into the political, referring to the republic 'that I am fixing after a long and hard four years.' He said that on this commemorative day, his fixes were not for today to discuss. Before speaking, Trump placed a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, a sombre tradition for US presidents. The president paused after placing the wreath, then stepped back and saluted during the playing of taps. US Vice-President J.D. Vance and Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth joined him. Trump told the story of Senior Chief Petty officer Shannon Kent, killed along with three other Americans by a suicide bomber in 2019 in Syria , leaving behind her husband, three-year-old son and 18-month old son.
The Independent
26-05-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Trump can't resist attack on Biden during Memorial Day speech honoring fallen heroes
President Donald Trump on Monday used what was intended as a solemn address honoring at America's honored dead at the country's most hallowed war grave to deliver a speech replete with gratuitous attacks on his predecessor and self-congratulatory talk about how God had returned him to the White House so he could preside over next year's U.S.-hosted World Cup and the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. Trump, who spoke at the Arlington National Cemetery ampitheater following introductory remarks by Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dan Caine, opened his speech by speaking of the 'incredible service members' who 'rest in glory' at Arlington, at America's overseas military cemeteries across the globe, and in 'one thousand lonely places known only to God.' 'Those young men could never have known what their sacrifice would mean to us, but we certainly know what we owe to them. Their valor gave us the freest, greatest and most noble republic ever to exist on the face of the earth,' Trump said. But the president quickly pivoted to grouse about his predecessor and his immigration policies, telling the crowd he was 'fixing' that 'noble republic' after 'a long and hard four years.' 'That was a hard four years we went through — who would let that happen?' he said. 'People pouring through our borders, unchecked, people doing things that are indescribable.' But Trump, apparently noticing his surroundings, added that such things were 'not for today to discuss' and continued his remarks, eventually going into a recitation of the names and deeds of a few of the Americans buried there at Arlington, soldiers and Marines and sailors who died in Vietnam and Afghanistan and Syria. He described how they'd sacrificed themselves 'on the altar of freedom' and how they'd 'plunged into the crucible of battle, stormed into the fires of Hell, charged into the valley of death and rose into the arms of angels.' 'The sacrifice that they made was not merely for a single battle a long ago victory or a fleeting triumph decades or centuries past. Their sacrifice was for today, tomorrow and every morning thereafter, every child that lives in peace, every home that is filled with joy and love,' he said. 'Our debt to them is eternal, and it does not diminish with time. It only grows and grows and grows with each passing year. The greatest monument to their courage is not carved in marble or cast in bronze. It's all around us, an American nation, 325 million strong, which will soon be greater than it has ever been before.' He spoke of a U.S. Navy 'linguist, translator and cryptologic technician' by the name of Shannon Kent, who was one of the first women to work alongside elite special operations units such as Navy SEAL teams and the Army's Delta Force 'to help them capture and kill terrorists.' 'She was among the first women ever to do it, and she did it better than anyone,' said Trump, who described how Kent, a Senior Chief Petty Officer, had been embedded in Syria with a SEAL team who were 'hunting ISIS terrorists through the streets' when she lost her life at the hands of a suicide bomber, leaving behind a husband and two sons who were in attendance at Arlington on Monday. Turning to them, he told them their mother 'was a hero' whose 'love ... strength and ... spirit' would 'always' be with them. He also told her parents and sister that Senior Chief Kent's name would 'live forever in the chronicles of true American patriots.' 'We should never forget, even for a moment, that freedom is a gift of the highest cost, and peace is one at the most precious price. These extraordinary American heroes and their immense and ultimate sacrifices, they offer only the faintest glimpse at the infinite grace we have received from all who laid down their lives for America over the past 250 years,' he said. But after that poignant moment, Trump returned to congratulating himself. His mention of 'the past 250 years' appeared to remind him of the upcoming semiquincentennial celebration to mark the anniversary of America's declaration of independence from Great Britain in July 1776. 'We're going to have a big, big celebration, as you know, 250 years, in some ways, I'm glad I missed that second term where it was because I wouldn't be your president for that most important of all. In addition, we have the World Cup, and we have the Olympics. Can you imagine? I missed that four years, and now look what I have — I have everything, it's amazing how things work out,' he said. 'God did that — I believe that, too.' 'You know, I got the World Cup and I got the Olympics. The 250 years was not mine. I'd like to take credit, but I got the Olympics, I got the World Cup when I was president. And I said, Boy, it's too bad I won't be president then. And look what happened. I turned out, and we're going to have a great time.' Trump, who never served in any of the U.S. armed services spoke just after he laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, which holds unidentified remains of three American servicemen, one from the First World War War, one from the Second World War, and one from the Korean War. The president was accompanied by Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and Major General Trevor Bredenkamp, the commanding general of the Military District of Washington, as he approached the tomb and helped slide the wreath into place. All four rendered hand salutes during the playing of the national anthem, even though Bredenkamp, who was in uniform, was the only one of them required to salute under protocol and tradition dictating that civilians and persons wearing civilian clothing are supposed to place their right hands over their hearts instead. Trump has often erroneously saluted at military ceremonies such as this one, but it is notable that Vance and Hegseth chose to copy him since they are both military veterans who would have been trained not to salute when not in uniform. The president's speech with attacks on Biden came hours after he took to Truth Social for an early morning post in which he railed against his predecessor Joe Biden, branded the Demcorats 'scum' and federal judges 'monsters' in a testy Memorial Day message. In an all-caps, early-morning tirade, the president wished a 'Happy Memorial Day to all' before his message went awry and devolved into an all-out attack against his political opponents. 'Including the scum that spent the last four years trying to destroy our country through warped radical left minds, who allowed 21,000,000 million people to illegally enter our country, many of them being criminals and the mentally insane, through an open border that only an incompetent president would approve,' he wrote. Trump also addressed his clash with the courts and lambasted federal judges who have moved to block his administration 's policies, claiming they are protecting 'murderers, drug dealers, rapists, gang members, and released prisoners from all over the world.' Deriding the judiciary as 'monsters,' Trump said that he remains hopeful that the U.S. Supreme Court and other 'good and compassionate' judges will step in to save America. 'But fear not, we have made great progress over the last 4 months, and America will soon be safe and great again! Again, happy Memorial Day, and god bless America!' he concluded the message, which was deleted twice with spelling and spacing errors before it was finally re-uploaded.
CBS News
26-05-2025
- Politics
- CBS News
Trump to lay wreath at Arlington National Cemetery to mark Memorial Day
President Trump on Monday will visit the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and deliver remarks at Arlington Cemetery to commemorate Memorial Day. The president will lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, a somber annual tradition for presidents, and one Mr. Trump participated in during his first term as president. Early Monday, Mr. Trump posted a message on his social media platform Truth Social about Memorial Day, writing in all caps that he wished a "happy Memorial Day to all," including the "scum that spent the last four years trying to destroy our country through warped radical left minds." He went on to target immigration policies and accused "USA-hating judges who suffer from an ideology that is sick, and very dangerous for our country" of protecting criminals. Memorial Day honors those who died in uniform as a result of battle. Since the Revolutionary War, the Department of Veterans Affairs estimates more than 650,000 U.S. military personnel have died in battle. The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, completed in 1932, to represent the burial site of a soldier from World War I whose remains could not be identified. Unknown remains from later wars were added in 1958 and 1984. Earlier this month, the president proclaimed on Truth Social that the U.S. will designate new holidays to commemorate the end of World War I and World War II in Europe. "All over the World, the Allies are celebrating the Victory we had in World War II. The only Country that doesn't celebrate is the United States of America, and the Victory was only accomplished because of us," Mr. Trump said in that post. "I am hereby declaring a National Holiday in celebration of the Victories of World War I, where the Armistice was signed on November 11, 1918, and World War II, where the Victory date was May 8, 1945," he wrote. Nov. 11 is already a federal holiday, known as Veterans Day. May, 8, 1945, is generally known as Victory in Europe Day, or V-E Day, since the war in the Pacific lasted until the Japanese surrended, which was announced on August 14, 1945.
