Jackie Robinson’s military story has been restored to the Department of Defense website after it was removed.
According to reports, the DoD’s website removed the story honoring Robinson’s military sacrifice and breaking the color barriers in baseball but later it was restored. The article discussed Robinson’s service in the military during World War II, specifically in the 761st “Black Panthers” tank battalion.
Many believed that the story was removed from the website as a casualty of Trump erasing “diversity, equity, and inclusion,” (DEI) initiatives. The Defense Department later revealed that it would not “highlight the history of notable service members like Robinson- or other heroes including the Navajo Code Talkers, the Tuskeegee airmen, and Ira Hayes, one of the flag-raising Marines at Iwo Jima on the basis of their race, ethnicity or sex.” Their stories were also removed from the website.
John Ullyot, Pentagon press secretary spoke on the removal of Robinson’s story and insisted that “everyone at the Defense Department loves Jackie Robinson, as well as the Navajo Code Talkers, the Tuskegee airmen, the Marines at Iwo Jima and so many others.”
Other pages paying tributes to historical figures have disappeared completely, while others have been restored. What are your thoughts on this?