The US Department of Defense, led by Pentagon Chief and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, has launched a DEI purge from the US war archives where they’ll remove all references and mentions of anything diverse, equitable, and inclusive. However, one of the casualties of this erasure just so happens to be a World War 2 bomber named Enola Gay; you might have heard of it and its pilot in your history lessons.
The report came from Associated Press and was even confirmed by US officials. A total of 26,000 photos have been flagged for removal or erasure across every military branch in the US. AP News even surmises that the number could be higher once the tally and the sweep are finalized. Among the 26,000 war images to be purged from the archives, Enola Gay’s photo is included even though it’s a Boeing B-29 Superfortress bomber and not a person.
In fact, Pentagon Chief Pete Hegseth appears to be even rushing the process and gave the military until Wednesday to remove any DEI content. The purge is in response to President Donald Trump’s executive order to end DEI programs across the federal government, though it appears the effect is mostly retroactive.
Enola Gay’s Colorful History in the US Military
As for who exactly Enola Gay is, the B-29 Superfortress Bomber was named after the mother of its pilot, Enola Gay Tibbets. Enola Gay was instrumental in achieving victory in the Pacific theater of WW2 because it carried and dropped the first of the two nuclear or atomic bombs in history.
The bomb Enola Gay was carrying, called Little Boy, was dropped on Hiroshima, Japan, and nearly destroyed the whole city. Enola Gay has since become a rather important and prominent symbol of WW2 victory, especially in US military history.
Of course, that didn’t stop the Pentagon from forgetting the importance of one of its country’s historical highlights and culling it due to a word that doesn’t even carry the same meaning as the one associated with DEI.
Pentagon Draws Flak for Enola Gay Takedown
Some estimates for the Pentagon‘s DEI military archive purge put figures at 100,000 removed photos by the end of the initiative. As usual, the move drew the ire of some American citizens, who have since taken to Twitter/X and other online spaces to voice out their ridicule and criticism for the Department of Defense, particularly Pete Hegseth.
“These fuckers are bigots and fucking idiots too,” according to one scathing criticism.
Others were in disbelief because the Pentagon is wasting its resources to slander and villainize airplanes that they think are gay.
Sadly, Enola Gay wouldn’t be the only notable victim of the Pentagon’s DEI purge since many of the photos in the US military archives are people of color who served and sacrificed their blood, sweat, and tears during the US’ biggest and most involved wars.
