Pentagon Removes Medal of Honor Recipient’s Page, Sparks Backlash

A page on the Pentagon website that honored Sgt. William Carney, the first African American to receive the Medal of Honor, has been taken down. This has caused lawmakers to criticize the Defense Department for removing history.

He was in the 54th Massachusetts Colored Infantry Regiment and was praised for his bravery in the Second Battle of Fort Wagner in July 1863. The 1989 movie Glory showed how heroic he was by showing him dragging the American flag forward while being shot multiple times.

But as of Wednesday, the 2017 Defense.gov piece about Carney's Medal of Honor story has been taken down and now returns a 404 error. Adding "DEI" to the URL for the missing page, which stands for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, suggests a link to the recent changes in policy made by President Trump and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth.

The Pentagon recently took down dozens of pages from military-run websites because it was told to get rid of policies that were biased against people of color and women. Senate Democrats were against the move and said it was disrespectful to soldiers.

Sean Parnell, a spokesman for the Pentagon, said, "Diversity is not our strength—our shared purpose and unity are." In the meantime, Carney's story is still on the Army's website, even though the Defense Department hasn't said why it was taken down.

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