Colin Powell, WWII vet Medgar Evers removed from Arlington National Cemetery website? Official responds
ByHT News Desk
Mar 21, 2025 08:43 AM IST
This comes as the Arlington National Cemetery has reportedly removed several web pages that celebrated Black and women veterans.
After claims about civil rights leader and World War veteran Medgar Evers’ name being removed from the Arlington National Cemetery website surfaced, a spokesperson clarified that it was only ‘moved to a different section’. Now, social media influencers say that Colin Powell’s name was purged from the list of notable Americans buried in the cemetery.
Colin Powell, a US war hero and the first Black secretary of state, died from complications from Covid-19, his family said on October 18, 2021.(AFP FILE)
Colin Powell, a US war hero and the first Black secretary of state, died from complications from Covid-19, his family said on October 18, 2021.(AFP FILE)
This comes as the Arlington National Cemetery has reportedly removed several web pages that celebrated Black and women veterans. The HuffPost reported that the purging follows President Donald Trump’s executive orders on diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts in the federal government.
Talking Point Memo reported that an army webpage from 2008 that lauded President Harry Truman’s 1948 integration order has disappeared. It was available as recently as last year, web archives show.
Official responds
Responding to the TPM report, a spokesperson said: “As Secretary Hegseth has said, DEI is dead at the Defense Department. Efforts to divide the force — to put one group ahead of another through DEI programs — erode camaraderie and threaten mission execution,”
“We are pleased by the rapid compliance across the Department with the directive removing DEI content from all platforms. In the rare cases that content is removed that is out of the clearly outlined scope of the directive, we instruct components accordingly.”
Users on Elon Musk-led X fact-checked claims. “No individuals have been removed from the listings of Notable Graves on the Arlington Cemetery website. Colin Powell is listed in the section ‘Prominent Military Figures’,” a community note read.
Also read: Is Pentagon going to fire 60,000 civilians? Here's what we know so far?
Who was Colin Powell?
Colin Powell was a Black American general and statesman. He served as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (1989–1993), overseeing the Gulf War, and as Secretary of State (2001–2005) during the start of the Iraq war. Known for the "Powell Doctrine" and breaking racial barriers, he died of COVID-19 complications in 2021.
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