WW2 heroes deleted in Pentagon’s purge, NBC News

References to an American WW2 Medal of Honour 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 to be deletion as the Defence 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 26,000+ images that have been marked for removal across every military branch. But the total might be much higher. One official said the purge could delete as many as 100,000 images or posts in total, when considering social media pages and other websites that are also being culled for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion/DEI content. The official said it’s not even clear if the database has been finalised.

Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth had given the military just days to remove content that highlights diversity efforts in its ranks following Pres. Trump’s executive order ending those programmes across the federal government. Most of the Pentagon purge targets women and minorities, even notable heroes in the military. And it also removes a large number of posts that mention Commemorative Months eg those for women and for Black and Hispanic people.

In 1945, Bob Lewis ferried a modified B-29 to the Utah base where a group was training for its special assignment. 

historynet.com

But a review of the database underscores the chaos that swirled among agencies about what to remove re Trump’s order. In some cases, photos seemed to be flagged for removal because their file included the word gay, including service members with that last name and an image of the B-29 aircraft Enola Gay, which dropped the first WW2 atomic bomb on Hiroshima Japan.

Photos of an Army Corps of Engineers dredging project in California were marked for deletion because a local engineer in the photo had the last name Gay. And some photos and videos of the Tuskegee Airmen, the nation’s first Black military pilots who served in a segregated WW2 unit, were listed :( The Air Force briefly removed new Tuskegee recruit training courses. That drew 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, and it’s not clear if others might be allowed to stay, including those with great historical significance.

Asked about the database, Pentagon spokesman John Ullyot said “We are pleased by the rapid compliance across the Dept with the directive removing DEI content from all sources. Hegseth declared that DEI is dead and that efforts to put one group ahead of another through DEI programmes threatens mission execution.

Cadets at the Flying School for Negro Air Corps Cadets Jan 1942.

Richmond Free Press

The main page in a post titled Women’s History Month: All-female crew supports war fighters was removed. But note that at least one of its photos, about an all-female C-17 crew, could still be accessed. An Army Corps of Engineers photo called Engineering pioneer remembered during Black History Month was deleted. Other photos flagged in the database but still visible included images of the WW2 Women Air Service Pilots and one of U.S Air Force Col. Jeannie Leavitt, the country’s first female fighter pilot.

Also still visible was an image of Private First Class/PFC Christina Fuentes Montenegro becoming one of the first women to graduate from the Marine Corps’ Infantry Training Battalion and an image of Marine Corps WW2 Medal of Honour recipient PFC Harold Gonsalves. And it was unclear why some other images were removed.

The database of 26,000 images was created to conform with federal archival laws, so if the destroying images was queried in the future, officials could show they were complying with the law. But it may be difficult, because the responsibility was dependent on each unit. Workers might have taken screenshots of the pages marked for removal, but otherwise it would be difficult to restore images.

A Marine Corps official said every one of its images in the database either has been taken down or would be. The Marines were moving on the directive as fast as possible, but as with the rest of the military, very few contractor employees at the Pentagon could perform content removal. In the Marine Corps, one defence civilian had to do the work! He identified 10,000+ images and papers for removal online, and after further review, 3,600 of those were removed. The total excludes 1,600+ social media sites that have not yet been addressed. The Marine official said the service is going through each site and getting new administrative privileges so it can make the changes.

This Feb 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 immediately they were told to temporarily remove from public display all content published during the Biden administration’s four years in office.

Tank officer Jackie Robinson’s heroic career was purged from military site. Then reinstated.

NBC News

A database obtained by CNN shows that 24,000+ articles would be purged, with many gone already. This goes well beyond just the removal of images from the Pentagon’s visual database, Defence Visual Information Distribution Service, and includes articles from across 1,000+ websites hosted by the Dept. Articles about the Holocaust, September 11th, cancer awareness, sexual assault and suicide prevention are among the tens of thousands removed or flagged for removal from Pentagon websites as the Dept has scrambled to comply with the order to scrub diversity content to comply with Pres. Trump’s order.

A Defence Department’s website celebrated six Marines photographed hoisting a U.S flag on Iwo Jima in 1945, including famous Pfc Ira Hayes, a Pima Indian. This was an emblem of the contributions and sacrifices Native Americans have made to the U.S in the military etc. But along with many others about Native American, this page has now been erased amid the Trump administration’s wide-ranging crackdown on what it says are “diversity, equity and inclusion” efforts in the federal government (The Washington Post). Multiple articles about the Navajo code talkers, critical to America’s victory at Iwo Jima and the wider Pacific theatre, were also removed, along with a profile of a Tonawanda Seneca officer who drafted the Confederacy’s surrender at Appomattox toward the end of the Civil War.

Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima, Feb 23 1945

Reddit

1956 - what a year!

 Budapest Oct-Nov 1956

BBC History Magazine asked historians to select history’s most dramatic year. I expected them to select 476 AD, 1215, 1492, 1914 and 1933, but in my opinion 1956 was by far the most dramatic. Historian George Goodwin also selected 1956 and specified the events that changed the world.

1956 marked  a watershed year, one when we began to see the post-war world that was under challenge. It was a time when austerity and cult­ural deference were being replaced by the triumph of American-style mass consumer culture. The 1956 Suez Crisis, when Britain along with France and Israel invaded Egypt to recover control of the Suez Canal, was arguably one of the most significant episodes in post-WW2 British history. It led to periodic changes of national direction! France, in contrast, was already beginning the process of European consolidation: the negotiations to create the European Community of 1957’s Treaty of Rome were effectively decided in 1956.

Further to the east, the Soviet grip on its European conquests seriously faltered for the first time, as it violently suppressed the Hungarian uprising. Hundreds of thousands of demonstrators swarmed through the streets, tearing down statues of Stalin, ripping the Communist emblem from Hungarian flags and dodging the gunfire of the secret police. This bloody revolt against the rulers of the Hungarian People's Republic and its imposed policies led to Soviet tanks entering Budapest. The crisis lasted for 12 days, after which the Soviet leadership agreed to a ceasefire and a reformist government under Imre Nagy took over in Budapest. 2,500 Hungarians had died and 250,000 fled as refugees, mainly through Austria (including my sister in law in Melbourne).

The USA's supreme court’s ruling against bus seg­reg­ation was Rev Martin Luther King’s first great civil rights victory. See a famous photo where Martin Luther King was welcomed by his wife Coretta after leaving court in Montgomery, Alabama in 1956. King was found guilty of conspiracy to boycott city buses in a drive to desegregate the bus system, but a judge suspended his fine (pending appeal).

Rev and Mrs Martin Luther King Jr
outside the courthouse in Montgomery, Alabama 1956

The Anglo-American focus on individual expression and liberation, which dominated the following decades, was highlighted by John Osborne’s Look Back in Anger and Allen Ginsberg’s Howl. And the re-election of the conservative US President Eisenhower could not mask the growth of the free spending, rebellious teenagers with a James Dean poster on the wall and rock and roll on the jukebox – a phenomenon echoed across the English speaking world.

Elvis Presley entered the US music charts for the first time, with Heartbreak Hotel. Rock Around the Clock was a 1956 mus­ical film featuring Bill Haley and His Comets in cinemas every­where. It was one of the major box office successes of that year. The Platters hits throughout 1956 included The Great Pretender, My Prayer, You've Got the Magic Touch, One In A Million and You'll Never Know, changing the life of every teenager in the world. 1956 was a good time to be a university student.

Elvis Presley was changing teenagers' lives
Love Me Tender 1956

But George Goodwin omitted one critical 1956 event. The Olympic Games moved to the Southern Hemisphere for the first time ever! Colonial Britain, France and Spain had long understood that the days of empire were over; the dead soldiers from WW2 had been buried and memorial­is­ed, rationing had ended, and economies could start to develop once again. The huge number of baby boomers, who had been born (1946-55) after their fathers were demobilised, filled the primary schools. Millions of migrants, largely from Europe, were shipped to the southern hemisphere where new suburbs were developed with detached houses on large blocks. The eternal cultural cringe was ending.

State budgets were not open ended of course, but neither were the 1956 Olympic Games in Melbourne full of community conflict, as they had been in other cities. Everyone in Australia wanted the most modern swimming pools, the best athletic tracks and the biggest Olympic Village for the athletes. To this day, people still say the 1956 Games were the crowning achievement of the Melbourne School of Architecture in the post-war period; they were an inspiration to Rome, Tokyo, Sydney, Rio de Janeiro and every other city competing for later Games.

The 1956 Summer Olympics Games, Melbourne

attendance of 1.153 million people over the 15 days.

Until 1956 British and Egyptian governments administered Nth and Sth Sudan as separate colonies. When both areas merged into a single administrative region after political pressure from the north, British colonial administration granted the North most political independence in 1956. In post colonial reconstruction, national political and economic issues ravaged Sudan internally. Northern violence against the southern minorities in the first Sudanese Civil War killed 400,000 civilians & 100,000 soldiers. 

Child soldiers, Sudanese Civil War

blackpast

Polio was a highly infectious disease affecting young children that attacks the nervous system, leading to spinal and respiratory paralysis, and even death. In the 1950s Dr Jonas Salk invented the polio vaccine which showed the medical profession that tackling polio epidemics was feasible. In 1956 virologist Dr Albert Sabin developed oral polio medication using live, weakened poliovirus, a key step towards global polio eradication. Salk’s vaccine stimulated immunity without causing illness but only Sabin’s oral polio treatment accelerated global immunisation efforts, making polio eradication a medical revolution for millions of children.

 

Australia's national hat, the akubra.

Australian Army hat, wool felt 

Rising sun badge and puggaree 

Everything Australian

The origin of the slouch hat began with the Victorian Mounted Rifles in 1885. The Victorian hat was an ordinary bush felt hat turned up on the right side so it would not be caught during the drill movement of shoulder arms. By 1890, State military commandants had agreed that all Australian forces should wear a looped-up hat of uniform pattern turned up on the right side in Victoria and Tasmania, and on the left in other States, depending on drill movements. The slouch hat became standardised headdress in 1903, a famous symbol of Australian soldiers in WW1 and WW2. Now, as we will see, it is a national symbol.

Soldiers parade on Anzac Day

Facebook 

Slouch hats worn by Armoured Corps men were adorned with emu plumes. This tradition originated with the Queensland Mounted Infantry during the great shearers’ strike in 1891 when the Infantry came to aid the civil power. The soldier rode his horse alongside emus, plucked a breast feather, and placed it on the hats. The Gympie Squadron was the first to wear feathers and the rest of the regiment soon followed. The Queensland government permitted the Regiment to adopt the plume as part of its uniform, in thanks for service. In 1915, Minister for Defence granted all Australian Light Horse units permission to wear the plume.

When killed at Gallipoli, Commander General of Australia’s Imperial Force was found wearing his slouch hat reversed. From then, when the hat was worn at Royal Military College Duntroon, it became usual to wear the chinstrap buckle on the right side and the brim down. Plus wearing the brim down provided additional protection from the sun.

The puggaree originated from the Hindu pagri i.e a thin scarf of muslin. Intended for insulation, the puggaree was a traditional Indian head-wrap, adapted by the British and worn in hot regions. In WW1, a plain khaki cloth band was added and this practice continued until in 1930, new puggarees were issued to Commonwealth Military Force with different coloured folds, denoting Arm or Service. The puggaree has 8 pleats, with 7 representing each state and 1 for the Australian Territories. Made from light khaki cotton it is worn on the slouch hat with a unit colour patch on the right side. Troops who were on active service in the Middle East wore a folded puggaree as a mark of active service.

The word Akubra was ?derived from an Aboriginal word for head covering. Wide-brimmed, fur-felt Akubra hats are a traditional part of outdoor clothing in the Australian bush, protecting wearers from sun and rain. They are still worn by stockmen, hunters, graziers, farmers and horsemen, the rural community accounting for 70% of sales. It was closely associated with Australian identity.

Australian cattle men on horses

Austockphoto

Akubra has been producing high-quality hats since 1874. Founded by Benjamin Dunkerley the company started in Hobart where they created new pieces of machinery for hat making. Workers on the factory floor use traditional felting methods that were available then. But in 1904 they were joined by Stephen Keir who brought his great experience. After Dunkerley died in 1918, ownership of the company shifted to Keir I. Since then the Akubra brand passed down the generations of his family in Kempsey (North Coast NSW).

Hat sales declined in the Depression so the 200+ staff took a 10% pay cut to avoid redundancies. The business re-grew with staff numbers peaking in the 1940s, thanks to ongoing military contracts. When Stephen Keir retired in 1952, production was at a record high. He was succeeded as Managing Director by eldest son, Herbert. 2nd son, Stephen Keir II, became Managing Director 20 years later.

Olympics and films

Australian team, 1988

Opening ceremony Seoul Olympics

In 1956, Akubra supplied the Panama straw hats worn by the Australian team at the Melbourne Olympics. By the 1960s consumer production was made of 60% city hats, but when the price of wool rose, the company focused on fur felt hats instead. The purpose-built factory in Kempsey was built in 1972, establishing Akubra as the region’s major employer. In 1982 The Man From Snowy River released and the hat inspired by the film became a staple in the range. It was estimated that 21+ mill hats were made by then. Stephen Keir III became Managing Director in 1980. Son Graham joined in 1972, later as National Sales Manager.

  

Paul Hogan in Crocodile Dundee 1986 made the Akubra even more sexy.  

The film remains the top-earning Australian film at the box office. 

Everything Australian

In 1988, Kempsey became The Akubra Home but variations were introduced. The Aussie Gold hat was made for the Australians at LA Games 1984. Greg Norman signed on with Akubra in 1987 and the Great White Shark hat went into production. The Aussie team wore Akubra hats at the Seoul Olympics and another Olympic version for Barcelona Olympics. The Spirit of Australia style arrived for 2000 Sydney Olympics. Another great example of the quality workmanship was found in the Banjo Paterson Akubra, named for the famous Australian poet.

Stephen Keir III retired as Managing Director in Dec 2007, allowing the 4th generation, Stephen Keir IV, to become Managing Director. In 2010, after working with the company for 56+ years, Stephen Keir III stepped down as Chairman of the Board and Stephen Keir IV became Chairman of the Board of Directors. In May 2012 Stephen Keir III died, survived by his wife and former Director Wendy, daughters Stacey and Nikki (both directors of Akubra Hats), son and Chairman of the Board of Directors Stephen Maitland Keir IV.

Jan 26th is Australia Day, the day the nation celebrates the founding of the first British colony in Sydney in 1788. By 2015 Akubra has produced 2 mill hats, still proudly made in Kempsey NSW, and still worn in Australian parades. Thank you to Akubra Story for dates and family names.

Helen in an akubra and spouse

introductory photo in Art and Architecture, mainly

historic Halifax, Nova Scotia

I’ve been to Canada a number of times, mainly to Toronto and Montreal for IRC gatherings, and to Winnipeg and Vancouver for family reunions. The Maritimes were lovely, but I didn’t have enough time there.

    Lawn cemetery

Visit some of Halifax’s historic highlights. The Maritime Museum of the Atlantic, located on the waterfront, is the perfect place to learn about Nova Scotia's maritime heritage. The Titanic is central to the museum’s role. While the survivors of the disaster made their way to New York, the dead were transported to Halifax, along with their precious possessions. Many Titanic victims were then taken to Fairview Lawn Cemetery, the headstones paid for by White Star Line, the British shipping line who owned Titanic. This was the burial site for the tragedies that have befallen Halifax. Consider those who lost their lives in the 1917 explosion. A French cargo ship, full of high explosives, collided with the Norwegian vessel in the harbour. The explosion devastated a district of Halifax - 1,800 people were killed by the blast, fires or collapsed buildings, and another 9,000 were injured.

The Maritimes, on Canada's east coast

A key part of Canada's history is Halifax Citadel National Historic Site, so visit this C19th fort with a sweeping view of Halifax city. Between May-Oct, the Citadel is enlivened by two historic regiments of the British Army, the pageantry of the 78th Highlanders and the precision of the Royal Artillery thrilling visitors with daily live enactments. The bagpipes and rifles help the recruits with the next foot drill. At sunset, join the other side of the Citadel i.e the Citadel Ghost Tour, seeing the creepy lore from the early 1800s.

Discover historic Halifax by embarking on a walking tour through the city centre. See the history, culture and architecture of the coastal city, visiting the Old Burying Grounds and Grand Parade. The special Halifax’s Old Town Clock (1800) is in a tower located at Fort George in the centre of town. Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and commander-in-chief of the British military forces, wanted a clock for the British Army and Royal Navy garrison.

    Old Town Clock, 1800  

Halifax Public Gardens is one of the finest surviving examples of a Victorian garden (1867) in North America. These Gardens are a living testament to an era where visitors welcomed respite from the urban atmosphere. The 16-acre public space, marked by ornate metal gates, still displays well shaped flower beds, quiet walkways, a picturesque gazebo and perfect picnic spots. Locals and visitors love the beauty and peace of the park, next to the Citadel. The gardens are open daily from 7a.m to sunset.

 entrance to the Halifax Public Gardens, opened in 1867 

See the other important historic sites eg St Paul's Anglican Church, St Paul’s has been an historic community since 1749. Continue along to the beautiful waterfront, passing the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia. Walk on the boardwalk to see the Discovery Centre and fine restaurants. The tour ends at the Canadian Immigration Museum at Pier 21! See City Hall 

A small part of the Halifax Boardwalk

St Paul's Anglican Church, opened in 1749  

For centuries, the lives of Maritimers have been shaped by the ocean, whether through fishing, shipbuilding or the navy. Browse through a variety of exhibits tracing the history of navigation, from the first explorers to the age of steam, and shipping accidents. In 1948, Fisherman’s Market became one of Canada’s first federally regulated seafood plants. The Halifax Market is a wholesaler, retailer and world exporter of fresh, frozen, smoked & salted seafood, and live Atlantic lobster. Fisherman’s Market is a direct link to the sea in every aspect of the fishery, from licence owners, vessel operators and fishing, to processing, distribution and retail. Seabright Smoke House products include hot and cold smoked salmon, mackerel, haddock and cod, all of which are smoked daily on-site by the market’s smokehouses.

Towering over central Halifax, the Halifax Citadel National Historic Site is a tribute to the city's military past. 4 forts have occupied this hilltop since 1749, when career British military officer Edward Cornwallis governed the region; the fort that stands today dates to 1856. Wander the Citadel's corridors to see Halifax's involvement in war eg American Revolution, American Civil War and both World Wars. The on-site Army Museum gives a closer look at the fortress's history. And to relive the hill back in its heyday, re-enactors of the Royal Artillery fire the traditional noon gun. From May-Oct the kilted 78th Highland Regiment give guided tours of the fort and show what it was like to be a soldier there. The Citadel is a 15-minute walk west of the waterfront.

 

The Citadel

Visit the super Farmers' Market which delights locals and tourists every Saturday and Sunday. 230 exhibitors offer fresh produce and handicrafts. Enjoy the colours and smells, while enjoying a wide selection of products to choose from: cheeses, sea-food, sweets and breads. And souvenirs to bring home from the Maritimes.

Visit the scenic Peggy's Cove fishing village and then go into Peggy's Cove’s charming rural community. Visit the picturesque Peggy’s Cove lighthouse and enjoy time walking around the small fishing village with scenic ocean views. Watch the sunset from Peggy’s Cove and then return to Halifax, taking a leisurely coastal drive with stops for views. The Metro population is c480,000 

Peggy’s Cove lighthouse