The U.S. Department of Defense and Army have removed articles about the Navajo Code Talkers from their websites following President Donald Trump's executive order targeting diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) content.
The removed materials highlighted how over 400 young Navajo Marines created an unbreakable code based on their native language during World War II, playing a key role in U.S. military victories across the Pacific from 1942-1945.
"It is unbelievable," said Zonnie Gorman, daughter of original Code Talker Carl Gorman. "Indigenous people are so invisible in the United States to begin with, and this is such a massive step backward."
Following public backlash, Navajo Nation President Buu Nygren announced Tuesday that defense officials assured him the content would be restored, explaining it was removed during an automated review process.
The Code Talkers' encrypted communications were never deciphered by enemy forces and helped accelerate the war's end while saving thousands of lives, according to historians. Many Code Talkers, including Carl Gorman, enlisted despite being granted U.S. citizenship only 20 years earlier.
"The Navajo Code Talkers were an important part of winning World War II," said Bryan Davis, a Navajo Marine veteran. "Without the language and efficiency of the code talkers, we wouldn't have won."
Navy veteran and Senator Mark Kelly called the content removal "a slap in the face to the Navajo community." The Navajo Nation Council expressed strong disappointment, with Speaker Crystalyne Curley stating that "erasing their extraordinary contributions from formal military history is not only disrespectful, it is dishonorable."
While the Army and Defense Department websites removed Code Talker content, the U.S. Marines, Air Force and Navy still maintain active articles about these WWII heroes.
Native Americans serve in the Armed Forces at five times the national average, comprising 1.7% of military personnel despite making up 1.4% of the U.S. population, according to the National Indian Council of Aging.