People are slamming Pete Hegseth, the new Pentagon chief, after a report revealed that photos of the Enola Gay bomber, the aircraft that dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima, were being removed from the Department of Defense (DOD) website. These removals are part of a broader effort to delete content related to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI).
According to a report from The Associated Press, the DOD flagged as many as 100,000 items, including images and posts, for deletion. The move is linked to an order from Hegseth, who gave the military a deadline to remove content focused on diversity initiatives.
One of the most controversial removals involved the Enola Gay, the plane that dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima during World War II. The issue was that the word “gay” was included in the file names or descriptions, leading to the materials being flagged for deletion.
This decision sparked anger on social media. Fred Wellman, a U.S. Army combat veteran, blasted Hegseth, writing on X, “What a piece of s— you are @SecDef,” and added, “Enola Gay. These f—ers are bigots and f—ing idiots too.”
Josh Kraushaar, editor of Jewish Insider, commented sarcastically, “Apparently image of ‘Enola Gay’ bomber was removed because it has the word ‘gay’ in it. Ya can’t make this stuff up.”
Chris Meagher, a former Pentagon spokesman, called the situation “bonkers.” He explained that among the thousands of items flagged for removal, the image of the Enola Gay was included simply because the file contained the word “gay.”
Rick Pearson, a political reporter for the Chicago Tribune, criticized the move, saying, “Including images of the Enola Gay and its flight crew. Because of the word ‘Gay.’ Complete lunacy and literally an attempt to whitewash history.”
Michael Collier from the Greater Cleveland Partnership added, “This isn’t a joke. They literally flagged it because of ‘DEI.’”
