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USA Today
08-04-2025
- Politics
- USA Today
Navajo Code Talker links restored on DOD sites; other Native stories still missing
Navajo Code Talker links restored on DOD sites; other Native stories still missing Show Caption Hide Caption Navajo Code Talkers Day celebration at the Arizona Capitol in Phoenix Sen. Theresa Hatathlie speaks and WWII Navajo Code Talker Thomas H. Begay speaks - and sings - at the Navajo Code Talkers Day celebration in Phoenix. Arizona Republic The Defense Department scrubbed histories of Navajo Code Talkers from some of its websites but said the information would be returned. The Defense Department told Navajo leaders the Code Talker items were removed as part of an automated review of materials that could violate Trump DEI policies. Other Native stories are still missing, including mentions of Ira Hayes, one of the Marines photographed raising the flag at Iwo Jima, and Hopi soldier Lori Piestewa. After widespread public scrutiny, the U.S. Department of Defense and Army restored some articles about the Navajo Code Talkers on Wednesday after previously removing them. Links to Navajo Code Talker articles on the websites were noticeably broken and unavailable on Monday, but by Wednesday, certain links were working, and the articles had been restored. Articles on individual Navajo Army soldiers as well as articles on Native American Heritage month continued to be broken and not accessible. The Code Talkers histories were scrubbed from the Pentagon websites as part of a review of materials that violated President Donald Trump's order regarding diversity, equity and inclusion. The Navajo Nation Council posted on its social media feeds that the content was restored on the Department of Defense websites after assurances to President Buu Nygren that the materials would be available. It wasn't clear at the time when the materials would be restored. "The restoration of the Navajo Code Talkers' articles is a necessary step, but it does not erase the harm caused by their initial removal," said Navajo Nation Speaker Crystalyne Curley. "The service of the Code Talkers was crucial to the success of World War II, and their legacy must be continually recognized and honored, beyond any political agenda." The Navajo Nation Council had voiced its opposition to the removal of content honoring the Navajo Code Talkers. The council said the Pentagon acknowledged the removal was a "mistake." Nygren credited the Navajo Nation's Washington Office for its advocacy and a letter to the Department of Defense. "I want to assure the Navajo people that we remain in close communication with federal officials to ensure the legacy of our cherished Navajo Code Talkers is never erased from American and Navajo history," Nygren said. "As sovereign nations, we are not defined by DEI classifications. We are political sovereigns with treaties and a long-standing relationship with the U.S. government." DEI fallout: Colleges cancel Native convocations to comply with Trump order, disappointing students Material about other Native soldiers removed The Defense Department said the removal resulted from an automated process complying with a DEI policy directive. While some pages had been restored, others remain offline, displaying server errors. The Pentagon has pledged to fully resolve the issue. Some links that lead to articles on individual Navajo soldiers or mention of Native American Heritage Month still aren't working on the Army page, suggesting that the removal falls in line with Trump's campaign against diversity, equity and inclusion. A Feb 26. memo from Sean Parnell, assistant to the secretary of defense, ordered Pentagon departments to "take all practicable steps, consistent with records management requirements, to remove all DoD news and feature articles, photos, and videos that promote Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI)." He gave them a deadline of March 5. The memo said all articles, photos and videos removed from the websites and social media platforms must be "archived and retained in accordance with applicable records management policies." It wasn't just the Navajo Code Talker links that were broken: Items about other notable Native American military members were also removed from the Defense website, including one on Ira Hayes, a Pima/Akimel O'odham Marine from Sacaton. Hayes was one of the Marines famously photographed raising the flag at Iwo Jima in World War II. Some items about Army Spc. Lori Piestewa, a Hopi soldier who was the first Native American woman to die in combat on foreign soil, were also removed. She was killed in 2003 in Iraq when a rocket-propelled grenade struck her vehicle during an ambush. Gila River Indian Community Gov. Stephen Roe Lewis said the removal of Native American veterans, such as Ira Hayes, is unacceptable and unfortunate. "To be clear, recognizing the patriotism and courage of Native American soldiers has nothing to do with any type of DEl initiative," Lewis said. "It's simply an offering of respect for extraordinary service and bravery in the line of duty. Every single reference that has been scrubbed should be returned to these websites as soon as possible." Fallout: DOD, Army websites scrub articles on Navajo Code Talkers. Here's how that may change Arlyssa D. Becenti covers Indigenous affairs for The Arizona Republic and Send ideas and tips to
Yahoo
19-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Fact Check: Trump administration removed Navajo Code Talker history from military websites per anti-DEI orders
Claim: The Trump administration removed Navajo Code Talker history from some government websites in accordance with President Donald Trump's anti-DEI orders. Rating: Context: As of this writing, there were at least a few U.S. government webpages that still included information on Navajo Code Talker history, but this history had been erased from other pages and at least one revised URL began with "dei." The Department of Defense has reportedly said the deleted pages will be restored. On March 17, 2025, a rumor that the history of Navajo Code Talkers was "erased" from U.S. military websites by the Trump administration circulated on the internet. An indispensable asset of the Allied military effort in World War II, Navajo Code Talkers communicated military intel over radio using a modified version of the Navajo language (also known as Diné bizaad). Axios was the first to report (archived) that Navajo Code Talkers had "disappeared" from military websites following a Trump order on DEI and the claim spread to multiple social media sites, including Reddit (archived), Bluesky (archived) and X (archived). Some posts claimed that the administration had erased their story from "all military websites": Trump issued a number of executive orders targeting diversity, equity and inclusion programs in early 2025. On Feb. 26, the Pentagon issued a memo (archived) ordering all DEI-related content removed from Department of Defense websites and social media platforms by March 5, 2025. Axios identified at least 10 decommissioned webpages related to Navajo Code Talkers across the DOD, U.S. Army and U.S. Intelligence Community's digital records. A few examples of those removals are as follows: Code Talkers Helped U.S. Win World Wars I and II ("Page Not Found" as of March 7) Includes an added "dei" notation at the beginning of the URL Protectors of Army communications ("Page Not Found" as of March 17) 1942: Navajo Code Talkers ("404 - Article Not Found" as of March 19) However, as of this writing, there are also at least four webpages that still display information related to the Navajo Code Talkers: Navajo Nation – Inventors of the Unbreakable Code (archived) Our Nation's Heroes: Through the Years (archived) Airman Honors Grandfather's WWII Code Talker Legacy (archived) The Navy Department Library: Navajo Code Talkers World War II Fact Sheet (archived) On March 18, 2025, Crystalyne Curley, speaker of the Navajo Nation Council, issued the following statement: The service of the Navajo Code Talkers secured victory in the Battle of Iwo Jima and in World War II. The Navajo Code Talkers earned their place in history through their courage and sacrifice, giving their lives in defense of this nation. Erasing their extraordinary contributions from formal military history is not only disrespectful, it is dishonorable. Navajo Nation President Buu Nygren also formally requested clarification from the Army and the Department of Defense. In an emailed statement to Snopes on March 19, 2025, Pentagon press secretary John Ullyot said: As Secretary Hegseth has said, DEI is dead at the Defense Department. Discriminatory Equity Ideology is a form of Woke cultural Marxism that has no place in our military. It Divides the force, Erodes unit cohesion and Interferes with the services' core warfighting mission. We are pleased by the rapid compliance across the Department with the directive removing DEI content from all platforms. In the rare cases that content is removed -- either deliberately or by mistake -- that is out of the clearly outlined scope of the directive, we instruct the components and they correct the content accordingly. However, in a statement to news outlets (archived) earlier in the day on March 19, the DOD said, "The department is restoring content about the Navajo Code Talkers. It had previously been removed during the auto-removal process." Snopes reached out to the DOD via email and phone to corroborate this reporting, and will update the story if we receive a response. During his first administration, Trump honored the Navajo Code Talkers. In 2017, he hosted 97-year-old Fleming Begaye, Iwo Jima survivor Thomas Begay and Peter MacDonald, the president of the then-13 surviving Navajo Code Talkers, in the Oval Office. (Getty Images) Alberty, Erin. 'Exclusive: Navajo Code Talkers Disappear from Military Websites after Trump DEI Order'. Axios, 17 Mar. 2025, 'Families of Navajo Code Talkers Decry Trump's Use of "Pocahontas"'. PBS News, 28 Nov. 2017, 'Navajo Nation Calls out "erasure" of WWII Code Talkers from DOD Website'. 18 Mar. 2025, Remarks by President Trump at an Event Honoring the Native American Code Talkers – The White House. Accessed 18 Mar. 2025.
Yahoo
19-03-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
First Space Force Guardian Launched into Space Returns with Stranded Astronauts
The first Space Force officer to be launched into space came back to Earth on Tuesday evening after six months aboard the International Space Station, returning alongside two astronauts who had stayed aboard the laboratory significantly longer than anticipated. Col. Nick Hague, an active-duty Space Force Guardian and astronaut, launched in late September from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. As the commander of NASA's SpaceX Crew-9 mission, he traveled 72,553,920 miles, spent 171 days in space, and completed 2,736 orbits, according to information from his service branch. "I never would have imagined that I was going to be the first Guardian to launch into space. I represent all those Guardians that are around the globe," Hague said in a news release Wednesday. "I represent that entire family that brings so much to the table that lets us explore space, and it's a thrill to be a part of that." Read Next: Navajo Code Talker Videos, Photos, Stories Removed to Comply with Trump Diversity Purge In addition to conducting numerous research experiments aboard the ISS, Hague also oversaw a high-profile operation involving the return of Butch Wilmore and Sunita Williams -- two astronauts and Navy test pilots who arrived at the space station initially expecting to stay only a week, but issues with the Boeing Starliner spacecraft left them in space for nine months. Hague, Williams, Wilmore and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov splashed down in the ocean off the coast of Tallahassee on Tuesday evening. The crew underwent medical evaluations as they started to readjust to Earth's gravity, with planned travel to NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston to meet up with their loved ones. Gen. Chance Saltzman, the Space Force's top uniformed leader, praised Hague's involvement in the mission. "As the first member of the Space Force to launch into orbit, he embodies our Guardian spirit," Saltzman said in the news release. "His dedication to scientific discovery is remarkable, his effort to inspire the next generation of space pioneers is commendable, and his commitment to serving our nation is unwavering. We're incredibly proud." Mike Hopkins, who was an Air Force officer, became the first Guardian in space when he took his service oath in a ceremony aboard the ISS in 2020. Hague's first visit to space, which lasted more than 200 days, happened in 2019, when he was a member of the Air Force. He transferred into the Space Force in 2021. His latest trip to space lasted 175 days -- with a combined total of more than a year orbiting above Earth. While the plan to bring Williams and Wilmore back with Crew-9 had been in the works for months before President Donald Trump took office, the commander in chief took to social media on Monday to erroneously blame and attack the Biden administration, claiming they "shamefully forgot" about the astronauts and left them in space. "This began when I asked Elon Musk to go up and get the abandoned astronauts, because the Biden administration was incapable of doing so," Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform. "They shamefully forgot about the astronauts, because they considered it to be a very embarrassing event for them -- another thing I inherited from that failed group of incompetents." Another Department of the Air Force service member joined the ISS crew over the weekend. Air Force Maj. Nichole Ayers is the pilot of NASA's SpaceX Crew-10 mission to the ISS. Ayers' service record includes more than 200 combat hours during Operation Inherent Resolve -- the military's fight against the Islamic State terrorist group in Iraq and Syria -- and she has upward of 1,400 flight hours in the T-38 Talon and F-22 Raptor, the Air Force said in a news release. "I can't wait to get to work up here," Ayers said in a video moments after arriving aboard the ISS. Related: Astronauts Stuck on Space Station Will Be Brought Back Home by Space Force Guardian
Yahoo
18-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
DOD, Army websites scrub articles on Navajo Code Talkers, citing Trump DEI policies
The Department of Defense and U.S. Army have scrubbed articles on the Navajo Code Talkers and their contribution to America's victories during World War II, removing the information from websites as part of President Donald Trump's campaign against diversity, equity and inclusion. In a memo dated Feb. 26, Sean Parnell, assistant to the Secretary of Defense, said that in response to Trump's executive orders, the military branches were required to remove news, feature articles, photos and videos that promote DEI. Any removed content from Defense Department websites and social media platforms were to be archived and retained per applicable records management policies. That content included mentions of the Code Talkers. "It is unbelievable," said Zonnie Gorman, daughter of the late Navajo Code Talker Carl Gorman, who was one of the original 29 Navajo Code Talkers. Zonnie Gorman, professional, longtime public historian, lecturer, and consultant on the Navajo Code Talkers of World War II, told The Arizona Republic Monday that it was frustrating to witness attempts at erasing history. "Indigenous people, we are so invisible in the United States to begin with, and this is such a massive step backward," said Gorman. "To dishonor these men, the Navajo Code Talkers, and World War II, and Code Talkers that served in other branches of the service, to dishonor their service to the United States is unconscionable." Over the weekend, Arlington National Cemetery reportedly scrubbed its website of various pages on grave sites and classroom lesson plans that highlighted the work of Black, Hispanic and female service members buried at the grounds, again due to Trump's DEI executive order. The Navajo Code Talkers have long been honored as heroes of World War II, with over 400 young Navajo men enlisting in the U.S. Marines and creating an unbreakable code based on the Navajo language. Many, including Gorman, lied about their age to serve a country that had granted them citizenship only 20 years earlier. This encrypted code, never deciphered by the enemy, played a crucial role in the United States' success across the Pacific front from 1942 to 1945. Historians contend that the Code Talkers helped accelerate the war's end and, without question, saved thousands of lives. "It's a disgrace to take this down because of DEI," said Bryan Davis, a Navajo Marine veteran who served from 2004-2015 and served in Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom. "The Navajo Code Talkers were an important part of winning World War II. Without the language and the efficiency of the code talkers, had that not taken place or used our code, we wouldn't have won World War II." Like many Navajo veterans, Davis said he has always admired the Navajo Code Talkers, whose legacy ultimately inspired him to enlist in the Marines shortly after graduating high school. He said the history of the Code Talkers is vital and should not be erased, but rather taught. "This history is something that should be shared with everybody," said Davis. "It's everybody's history. Everyone talks about American history, this is what it is." 'Not so fast': Native languages should be spoken and preserved, tribes say after Trump's 'English' order In 1982, Navajo Code Talkers Day was established through a presidential proclamation by President Ronald Reagan. In 2020, Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey signed legislation to make National Navajo Code Talkers Day a state holiday. Navy veteran and Sen. Mark Kelly took to X on Monday to post his thoughts on the recent erasure of Navajo Code Talkers from the DOD and Army websites, calling it "a slap in the face to the Navajo community." "There's a movement in this country where history is being erasing contribution that made this country great." said former Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez. Nez, who recently ran for Arizona's 2nd Congressional District, is a fluent Navajo speaker. While campaigning, he made a point to introduce himself in Navajo and remind non-Navajo voters that it was the language that helped win World War II. "Many knew about the code talkers but it gave me the opportunity to share more of our history with others," said Nez. "So, when you see President Trump, his administration, saying this is part of DEI, he and his team should be reminded that Native Americans, Indigenous people, are embedded in the U.S. Constitution." Efforts to remove references to the Navajo Code Talkers from military websites under the guise of DEI policies mark another blow to Indigenous communities. Last week, reports surfaced that the Maricopa County Community College District would eliminate student-of-color groups and clubs, including Native American clubs, and cancel the Native American convocations scheduled for May. Neither Navajo Nation President Buu Nygren nor the Navajo Nation Council has issued a statement regarding the removal of articles on the Navajo Code Talkers. During a recent meeting, council members noted that neither Nygren nor the council has taken a position on Trump's executive orders. "Navajo Nation Council, also Office of the President and Vice President, have not taken a position on these executive orders," said Council Delegate Danny Simpson. "One voice, we need that. We don't need a different voice from Navajo Nation Council or entities that receive federal funds, the Office of the President that does not work for us." For now, websites maintained by the U.S. Marines, Air Force and Navy still include active links to articles on the Navajo Code Talkers, but for many people, the question remains how long they will last. "I want to acknowledge the Marine Corps for not taking down their information on the Navajo Code Talkers," said Gorman. "I hope that remains true. They have a motto — Semper Fi — always faithful. They also never leave a Marine behind. I hope that erasing the Navajo Code Talkers from public knowledge is not an option for them." American Indians and Alaska Natives serve in the Armed Forces at five times the national average and have distinguished themselves in every major conflict for over 200 years. Despite making up approximately 1.4% of the U.S. population, Native people account for 1.7% of the military — excluding those who did not disclose their identity— giving them the highest per-capita participation of any group in U.S. military service, according to National Indian Council of Aging. "If we don't stand up and warrior up, what's next," said Nez. " What other histories are going to be erased and that should be a big concern for Indigenous people in this country." This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: DOD, Army remove Navajo Code Talkers materials, cite Trump DEI riles
