Enola gay photos removed
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The information purge includes removing language related to social wellness, racial equity and feminism. Others were still visible Thursday, and it’s not clear if they will be taken down at some point or be allowed to stay, including images with historical significance such as those of the Tuskegee Airmen.
Asked about the database, Pentagon spokesman John Ullyot said in a statement, “We are pleased by the rapid compliance across the Department with the directive removing DEI content from all platforms.
"He was just your average man who happened to do an amazing thing that his country asked him to do," she said.
Growing up, she was used to people offering their opinions on her grandfather's role in the bombing, which killed an estimated 140,000 people, many of them civilians. It's on my great-grandmother.
A shot from the Army Corps of Engineers titled “Engineering pioneer remembered during Black History Month” was deleted.
Other photos flagged in the database but still visible Thursday included images of the World War II Women Air Service Pilots and one of U.S. Air Force Col. Jeannie Leavitt, the country’s first female fighter pilot.
But it may be difficult to ensure the content was archived because the responsibility to ensure each image was preserved was the responsibility of each individual unit.
In many cases, workers are taking screenshots of the pages marked for removal, but it would be difficult to restore them if that decision was made, according to another official, who like the others spoke on the condition of anonymity to provide additional details that were not public.
President Donald Trump began rolling back all diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility efforts within the federal government, calling them “illegal and immoral.” News4 Investigative Reporter Tracee Wilkins reports.
In the rare cases that content is removed that is out of the clearly outlined scope of the directive, we instruct components accordingly.”
He noted that Hegseth has declared that “DEI is dead” and that efforts to put one group ahead of another through DEI programs erodes camaraderie and threatens mission execution. The main page in a post titled “Women’s History Month: All-female crew supports warfighters” was removed.
No one still has the administrative privileges to go in and change the content.
The Marine official said the service is going through each site and getting new administrative privileges so it can make the changes.
On Feb. 26, the Pentagon ordered all the military services to spend countless hours poring over years of website postings, photos, news articles and videos to remove any mentions that “promote diversity, equity and inclusion."
If they couldn't do that by Wednesday, they were told to “temporarily remove from public display” all content published during the Biden administration’s four years in office.
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AP reporters Nicholas Riccardi in Denver, Christina Cassidy in Atlanta, Will Weissert and Ayanna Alexander in Washington and Christine Fernando in Chicago contributed to this report.
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This story was first published on March 6, 2025.
All rights reserved.
Some images aren't gone
In some cases, the removal was partial. I find it very personal."
NHart@dispatch.com
@NathanRHart
This story was updated to add a photo gallery.
References to a World War II Medal of Honor recipient, the Enola Gay aircraft that dropped an atomic bomb on Japan and the first women to pass Marine infantry training are among the tens of thousands of photos and online posts marked for deletion as the Defense Department works to purge diversity, equity and inclusion content, according to a database obtained by The Associated Press.
The database, which was confirmed by U.S.
officials and published by AP, includes more than 26,000 images that have been flagged for removal across every military branch. But the Trump administration's move has "pushed the envelope" like no other event, she said.
"This is even more personal because this is an attack on my family.
President Donald Trump's administration is also trying to pressure schools and universities that receive public funding to shutter programs that it considers steeped in DEI principles.
Where did the name 'Enola Gay' come from?
The U.S.
Department of Defense ordered the photos of the Enola Gay — which was named after Paul Tibbets' mother — removed amid that purge, the Associated Press reported Friday. It was the first atomic bomb used in warfare, a decision made by President Harry Truman to get Japan to surrender, avoid what would have been deadly fighting and the loss of many American lives to take the Japanese main island, and end World War II.
But the Japanese could not or did not believe the extent of the destruction and death in Hiroshima.
Christina Fuentes Montenegro becoming one of the first three women to graduate from the Marine Corps’ Infantry Training Battalion and an image of Marine Corps World War II Medal of Honor recipient Pfc. Harold Gonsalves. If he were still alive today, he would likely call the ongoing controversy "ridiculous," Kia Tibbets said.
"I think there would be a whole lot of emotion, and probably not many of them very happy," she said.
Who was Paul W.
Tibbets Jr.?
Army Air Force Colonel Tibbets, 30, was the commander and pilot of the Enola Gay on Aug. 6, 1945, when the crew of the B-29 Superfortress dropped an atomic bomb dubbed "Little Boy" on the city of Hiroshima. “In rare cases where content is removed outside the directive’s clearly outlined scope, we provide further guidance to the relevant components.”
With News Wire Services
Pete Hegseth Removes 'Enola Gay' Bomber Images Because They Contain the Word 'Gay'
Thousands of military images online either have been or are set to be removed following Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's order to remove content showcasing diversity efforts within the military, including images of B-29 bomber Enola Gay due to having the word "gay" in it.
The bomber, which was used during World War II to drop an atomic bomb onto Hiroshima, Japan, was named Enola Gay after Enola Gay Tibbets, the mother of the bomber's pilot, Col.
Paul Tibbets Jr., reported AP News.
Pictures of Tibbits standing in front of the bomber have been removed from the Pentagon's website following the order.
Over 26,000 images have been flagged for removal, including others containing the word "gay." A headshot of Marine Corps Sgt. Maj. A.C. Gay was removed alongside images of one Army Corps of Engineer worker who also had the surname Gay.
One official stated that the number of flagged images intended to be purged may even rise to 100,000 after considering social media accounts and websites.
Hegseth had given military agencies until Wednesday to remove any images reflective of any diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) being implemented within the military following President Donald Trump's signing of an executive order aiming to eradicate DEI programs in federal institutions nationwide.
Women and minorities achieved many of the images and accomplishments targeted by such purges.
That drew the White House’s ire over “malicious compliance,” and the Air Force quickly reversed the removal.
Many of the images listed in the database already have been removed.
The vast majority of the Pentagon purge targets women and minorities, including notable milestones made in the military.