https://www.newsweek.com/military-remove-enola-gay-photos-dei-rules-2041029

Images of “Enola Gay,” the aircraft that dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima in Japan are among those targeted by the U.S. military in an initiative to eliminate content related to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI).

They are among a number of photos unrelated to DEI that have been mistakenly flagged, including those from an Army Corps of Engineers dredging project in California, seemingly because an engineer in the image had the last name “Gay.”

Why It Matters

The military is set to remove thousands of photos and online posts in the DEI purge following an executive order issued by President Donald Trump.

The Pentagon‘s directive to remove DEI-related content has resulted in the flagging of more than 26,000 images across all military branches, though officials suggest the final count could exceed 100,000 as reviews continue.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has defended the move, arguing that DEI initiatives undermine military cohesion and operational effectiveness.

What to Know

The executive order mandating the removal of DEI-related content required all military branches to review years of archived material, including website postings, photos, news articles and videos.

If the materials could not be reviewed by the deadline, they were to be “temporarily removed from public display” until further assessment.

A Marine Corps official stated that all flagged images within their database had either been removed or would be removed soon.

However, the process has been slow because of limited personnel numbers. The Marine Corps has only one civilian employee handling the removals, and an estimated 1,600 military-related social media accounts remain under review.

The removal effort has sparked confusion, as some images appear to have been marked for deletion because their filenames contain the word “gay,” including those of service members with that last name and the Enola Gay, the Boeing B-29 aircraft that dropped the first atomic bomb in combat during World War II.