PFC Ira Hayes (left), a Pima/Akimel O’odham Marine, was one of six who raised the American flag at Mt. Suribachi Feb. 23, 1945. He later participated in the Seventh War Loan drive to help defray the massive war debt by selling war bonds and would be memorialized in the Iwo Jima National Memorial. Mentions of Hayes have been recently removed from the Dept. of Defense’s websites.

By Darren Thompson

Arlington—This week, the Pentagon continued President Trump's purge on “diversity, equity, and inclusion” (DEI) by removing websites that highlight Native Americans in the military. Profiles of the infamous Navajo Code Talkers, Pima/Akimel O’odham Marine Ira Hayes, Hopi Army Specialist Lori Piestewa, and many others were removed from the Department of Defense’s websites. The few web pages that remain visible in online searches result in an “error page” and searches for names such as “Ira Hayes” or “Code Talkers” result in zero findings as well.

“The story of Native American Code Talkers, such as the Comanche Code Talkers, is an example of what truly makes America great,” said Comanche Nation Chairman Forrest Tahdooahnippah in an interview with LRI Media. “Despite prior prejudice against Native Americans and shameful attempts to eradicate Native American languages, the United States called upon young Native American men to serve as code talkers in both World War I and World War II. Despite the discrimination they experienced, these young men rose to the occasion to fight for the land they loved. They are examples of true patriots, and they have received Congressional recognition, including the Comanche Code Talkers who received a Congressional Gold Medal in 2013.”

In Denver 1940, the U.S. Army recruited seventeen Comanche men specifically to become Code Talkers. According to the Oklahoma Historical Society, thirteen Comanche Code Talkers landed at Utah Beach during the Normandy invasion in France on June 5, 1944. The Comanche Code Talkers served in France, Luxembourg, Belgium, and Germany including in the battles of Cherbourg, St. Lo, Paris, the Siegfried Line, the Huertgen Forest, and Bastogne. Some were wounded in action, but none were killed and the Comanche code they developed was never broken.

On Tuesday, March 18, Navajo Nation President Buu Nygren sent a letter to the U.S. Army and the Department of Defense, requesting clarification of the removal of the Navajo Code Talkers from the Pentagon's websites. He announced in a social media post that the removal of content related to the Navajo Code Talkers occurred as part of an automated review process associated with Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives. “Recognizing the work of the Navajo Code Talkers is profoundly significant to the Navajo Nation," President Nygren stated in his March 18 letter. "During World War II, the Navajo Code Talkers made indispensable contributions to American military successes in the Pacific theater”.

Thomas H. Begay, one of the original 29 Navajo Code Talkers, at the Iwo Jima National Memorial in Arlington, Virginia on November 12, 2022. Articles and website containing mentions of the Navajo Code Talkers were removed from the Dept. of Defense website. Photo by Darren Thompson.

The Navajo Code Talkers are arguably the most well-known of the Code Talkers from World War I and II, where a code developed from their language helped American and Allied forces across the Pacific Ocean after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. More notably is that the code helped save the lives of countless American and Allied lives, resulting in the defeat of Japan in 1945. Many of the Navajo Code Talkers, including the original 29 who were recruited from the Navajo Nation, would be awarded Congressional Medals of Honor. The Navajo Code using during the Pacific Theater would also be reported as unbroken by enemy forces.

Nygren said that the Dept. of Defense plans to restore the content featuring the Navajo Code Talkers, but did not say when. As of press time, very limited information about the Navajo Code Talkers was viewable on the Pentagon's website.

Screenshot of search results for “Code Talkers” on the U.S. Department of Defense’s search engine.

Axios first reported the website removals on Monday, March 17, citing that the removals were possibly a result of President Trump’s executive order on Jan. 21 ending diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives in the federal government. The erasure of profiles didn’t stop with Native American service members though, either. Other minority groups including women and LGBTQ+ were also removed from the Pentagon’s websites, according to The Washington Post.

Axios reported that Pentagon Press Secretary John Ullyot released a statement in response to the removal of the websites that said, “As Secretary [Pete] Hesgeth has said, DEI is dead at the Defense Department. We are pleased by the rapid compliance across the Department with the directive removing DEI content from all platforms.”

The number of military and government websites and articles that celebrate Native American contributions to the military are many, and how many are being swept from any mention is largely unknown. Searches for “Code Talkers,” “Ira Hayes,” or “Lori Piestewa” result in an error page, or an archived page with “dei” placed in front of the URL address, if the page is viewable. Other profiles of military service members were also removed from the websites, “dei” placed in front of their archived pages, if they are found. Currently, the U.S. Marine Corps, does not display information and articles about American Indian and Alaskan Native service members, including Ira Hayes.

Private First Class Ira Hayes, a Pima/Akimel O'odham Indian, was one of the six Marines photographed hoisting a U.S. flag on Iwo Jima in 1945 who later became memorialized in the Iwo Jima Memorial in Arlington, Virginia. Hayes was only one of three to survive the Battle of Iwo Jima, where the Navajo Code Talkers, also participated. Iwo Jima was also the only U.S. Marine battle where the American casualties exceeded those of the Japanese, with 26,000 American casualties, including 6,800 dead. Each of the web addresses for the articles about Hayes, the code talkers and others now redirect to an error page where “dei” has been added to the original URL.

“It's unacceptable and extremely unfortunate that the many vital contributions of Native Americans soldiers - including Ira Hayes' bravery during the Battle of Iwo Jima - appeared to have been disregarded by the Department of Defense and other military agencies,” said Gila River Indian Community Governor Stephen Roe Lewis in a statement on March 18. “To be clear, recognizing the patriotism and courage of Native American soldiers has nothing to do with any type of DEl initiative. 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.”

“As Chairman of the Comanche Nation, I rebuke the Department of Defense for removing references to the code talkers from its website, thank them for its restoration of such references, and request that they ensure that the contributions of the code talkers continue to be celebrated,” Tahdooahnippah said.

According to a former Trump proclamation in 2018, American Indian and Alaskan Natives have enlisted in the U.S. military at five times the national average.

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Darren Thompson is the Director of Media Relations for the Sacred Defense Fund, a nonprofit organization based in Santa Fe, New Mexico. He covers tribal sovereignty, social and environmental justice, as well as Indigenous art, music, and culture. He can be reached at darren@sacreddefense.org.

Pentagon Takes Swipe at Native American Service Members