The U.S. Department of Defense removed a webpage about Ira Hayes, a Pima Nation member and Marine who famously raised a flag on Iwo Jima during World War II, in early 2025. This action sparked discussion and led to the claim circulating in July 2026 that the webpage had been taken down.
The removal was part of a broader directive from the Department of Defense to eliminate content related to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) from its platforms. A memo issued in February 2025 by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered the archiving of any “DEI content, including content related to critical race theory, gender ideology, and identity-based programs.”
Following this directive, several pages were removed, including those pertaining to Navajo Code Talkers and a Black Medal of Honor recipient, in addition to the page on Ira Hayes. A Pentagon spokesperson stated that while the directive was clear, in cases where content was removed “deliberately or by mistake” and fell outside the scope of the directive, components would be instructed to correct the content.
As of March 21, 2025, the webpage about Ira Hayes was restored to the Department of Defense website. However, the restored version contained notable alterations. References to Hayes’ ethnicity, such as “Native American” and “Indian,” were either removed or rephrased. For example, a section originally identifying him as “a 22-year-old Pima Indian from Arizona” was changed to “a 22-year-old from Arizona’s Pima community.” The headline was also altered from “Pima Indian Helped Raise American Flag on Iwo Jima During World War II” to “Marine’s Valor Helped Secure Iwo Jima Victory in World War II.”
Further changes to the text of the Hayes page were observed between January and April 2026. While the March 2025 version described him as being from “Arizona’s Pima community,” a later version reverted to the original wording, calling him “a 22-year-old Pima Indian from Arizona.”
In addition to the primary webpage, another Department of Defense page that previously featured the iconic Iwo Jima flag-raising photograph and mentioned Ira Hayes’ Pima heritage was still offline as of July 2026. Archived versions of this page, dated February 18, 2025, showed it included the flag-raising photograph with a caption identifying Hayes as a “Pima from Arizona” and a “member of the Pima Nation of Arizona.” This page also had tags related to “American Indian Heritage Special” and “Native American History Month.”
The flag-raising photograph itself remained visible on other Department of Defense webpages discussing Iwo Jima, though these did not mention Hayes. It was also available on government sites like the National Archives. A separate image of Hayes, without mention of his ethnicity, was still accessible on the Department of Defense website. However, due to a lack of archived versions predating March 18, 2025, it was not possible to confirm if this specific page had ever included references to his Native American heritage. Pages explicitly detailing Hayes’ Pima background were still available on the official Marine Corps and Department of Veterans Affairs websites.
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