Desecration of History at Arlington National Cemetery Website

Arlington National Cemetery.
Arlington National Cemetery

According to recent multiple news media reports, links to educational web pages about African American, Hispanic, Indigenous American, and female veterans interred at Arlington National Cemetery have been removed by the cemetery’s website administrators.

Arlington National Cemetery’s Website Content Update Dated 19 March 2025

The cemetery’s website states, “Arlington National Cemetery is actively working to update its website and Education Programme content in compliance with executive orders issued by the president and Department of Defence instructions.”  

They want to clarify that no service members have been permanently removed from the “Notable Graves” section of their website. These pages highlight the stories of historically significant individuals with accuracy, commemorating their service and sacrifice. All profiles of individuals from the previously listed categories “African American History,” “Hispanic American History” and “Women’s History” can be found in other categories, such as “Prominent Military Figures,” “Politics and Government,” or “Science, Technology and Engineering” (to name a few examples), based on the person’s historical contributions to our nation.

All Notable Graves profiles can be found at Arlington National Cemetery > Explore > Notable Graves.

Source: Arlington National Cemetery. Website Content Update. 19 March 2025.

In other words, the “previously listed [educational] categories” listed above no longer exist at the time and date this post was published.

On 21 March 2025, I used Arlington National Cemetery’s search facility. Each of the above “previously listed categories” appears in the cemetery’s search results, but following the returned links leads to either “The service is unavailable” or “Term: [Name of category] 0 post(s)”.

On the same date, 21 March 2025, I compared information from the Wayback Machine, which preserves archived versions of web pages, to assess what had been available previously.

Women’s History at the Wayback Machine dated 2 December 2024

Women's History screenshot from the Wayback Machine dated 2 December 2024.

Women’s History at the cemetery’s website dated 21 March 2025

Women's History screenshot from the cemetery's website dated 21 March 2025.

The Wayback Machine result from the Women’s History page, dated 2 December 2024, on the cemetery’s website, shows a complete listing of educational materials. Note that this is a partial screenshot, and other Women’s History sections are listed outside the screen capture’s view. This provides a point of comparison to the current website as of 21 March 2025.

The second screenshot, dated 21 March 2025, shows the current web page address. At this point, the Women’s History educational materials are missing. The text on the page prompts users to explore these lesson plans, but no links are provided.

I then checked the cemetery’s search facility for Major General Charles Calvin Rogers, an African American who was awarded the highest military decoration in the United States, the Medal of Honour, for his service in Vietnam.

The search facility located the web page listing him. I then checked the search facility for General Colin Powell, which again located the web page about him. African American General Powell was twice awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the Congressional Gold Medal, the Presidential Citizens Medal, and the Secretary’s Distinguished Service Award.

Major General Charles Calvin Rogers.
Major General Charles Calvin Rogers

While individual African Americans no longer appear in the educational category of “African American History”, their listings and web pages can still be found using the cemetery’s search facility.

Desecration of history at the Arlington National Cemetery Website – Fact Check

This claim has been fact-checked by the website Task & Purpose, which has verified its accuracy. Source: Task & Purpose. Arlington Cemetery website drops links for Black, Hispanic, and women veterans. 13 March 2025.

The Task & Purpose website lists multiple examples of content on the Arlington Cemetery website that have disappeared or had their content changed.

One example is the page on African American soldiers in World War II, which in December read that they had “served their country and fought for racial justice”. The page now only states that memorials in the cemetery “honour their dedication and service.”

Task & Purpose’s report does not mention the removal of web pages about Indigenous American veterans, such as the Navajo Code Talkers.

During World War II, the U.S military recruited Navajos to convey radio communications in their language, which is among the most difficult to learn. The Navajo Code Talkers used word substitutions to further encrypt their transmissions. Around 400 Navajos participated in the Code Talkers program. Source: The Guardian. Articles about Native American code talkers removed from military websites. 18 March 2025.

Malcolm Nance, a U.S. veteran, provides further insight into the desecration of history at Arlington Cemetery in his YouTube video.

Trump Disgraces Arlington Cemetery… Again!

Video dated 19 March 2025

A U.S. Army spokesman stated to Task & Purpose that The Army has taken immediate steps to comply with all executive orders related to diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) personnel, programs, and policies.” “The Army will continue to review its personnel, policies, and programs to ensure it remains in compliance with law and presidential orders. Social media and web pages were removed, archived, or changed to avoid non-compliance with executive orders.

Historical Revisionism at Arlington National Cemetery

The actions mandated by the Trump Administration at Arlington National Cemetery erase the distinct recognition of African American, Hispanic, Indigenous American, and female veterans. Such historical revisionism undermines transparent commemoration and parallels practices of history manipulation seen in authoritarian regimes.

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