Snopes enola gay

Updates

March 11, 2025: This article was updated to include an additional statement from the U.S. Air Force.

Nur Nasreen Ibrahim is a reporter with experience working in television, international news coverage, fact checking, and creative writing.

In the picture, pilot Col. Paul Tibbetts Jr. poses in front of the plane, which was named after his mother, Enola Gay Tibbets.

In total, 26,000 images have been flagged, according to the AP, though one official told the outlet that that number could reach 100,000 when considering social media posts and other websites. The Enola Gay content remains on the website."

Trump's executive order criticized how institutions including the federal government have allegedly "adopted and actively use dangerous, demeaning, and immoral race- and sex-based preferences under the guise of so-called 'diversity, equity, and inclusion'" and required federal agencies to stop hiring on the basis of "race, color, sex, sexual preference, religion, or national origin."

Enola Gay was the name of the B-29 aircraft that dropped the world's first atomic bomb used in war on Hiroshima, Japan, during World War II.

The pilot handpicked the name, honoring his mother, the night before the mission.

The DOD flagged numerous posts on archival websites for removal on military websites, some of which were already deleted because they violated the administration's order to stop DEI programming, according to the AP. The AP report included a database that highlighted a number of images of the Enola Gay aircraft, some of which were no longer available on military websites, and others that are still available but "flagged" for removal across all military websites.

Some deletions took place not because of any LGBTQ+ content, but simply due to use of the word "gay." According to the AP, some Army Corps of Engineers photos were flagged for deletion because one of the engineers had the last name "Gay."

As of this writing, this image (archived) of the aircraft is still not visible on the Air Force website.

In the rare cases that content is removed that is out of the clearly outlined scope of the directive, we instruct components accordingly."

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said: "DEI is dead. The original source for such a claim was an AP story that relied on anonymous officials to confirm the details. Accessed 10 Mar.

2025.

"War Heroes and Military Firsts Are among 26,000 Images Flagged for Removal in Pentagon's DEI Purge." AP News, 7 Mar. 2025, https://apnews.com/article/dei-purge-images-pentagon-diversity-women-black-8efcfaec909954f4a24bad0d49c78074. Paul Tibbetts in Front of the Enola Gay." U.S. Air Force, https://www.af.mil/News/Photos/igphoto/2000593150/.

The Air Force spokesperson said:

In response to President Trump's Executive Orders and Secretary Hegseth's priorities, all Military Departments received guidance from the Department of Defense to review and remove DoD news and feature articles, photos, videos, and social media posts that promote Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.

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.

The vast majority of the Pentagon purge targets women and minorities and it also removes a large number of posts that mention various commemorative months—such as those for Black and Hispanic people and women.

Images of historically significant military achievements or personnel, such as the Tuskegee Airmen and the first female Marine Corps infantry graduates, have been flagged for removal.

And a photo of Army Corps biologists was on the list, seemingly because it mentioned they were recording data about fish—including their weight, size, hatchery and gender.

What People Are Saying

Pentagon spokesman John Ullyot confirmed the removals: "We are pleased by the rapid compliance across the Department with the directive removing DEI content from all platforms.

Per the AP's database, the image in question showed U.S. Deputy Defense Secretary William J. Lynn III touring a bomb pit loading area where the Enola Gay aircraft was loaded with the atomic bomb used on Hiroshima.

But many other photographs on the air force and National Defense University websites (seen here, here, here, and here) still show the Enola Gay aircraft as of this writing.

While the Air Force confirmed it was removing imagery that violated Trump's order, it did not specify which images and only anonymous officials confirmed the ones that were flagged for removal to the AP.

However, based on our examination of military webpages, a few images of Enola Gay have been removed while others remain.

Article 8 of 15 in Collection

Sources

"Atomic Bomb "Little Boy" Hoisted into Bomb Bay of B-29 Superfortress, Enola Gay, Tinian Island, August 1945." U.S. Navy National Museum. Then cry. You can't make up how dumb they are."

While some pictures of the Enola Gay aircraft were removed from the U.S.

Air Force and Department of Defense website, other photographs remained on the sites, though reports state they were "flagged" for removal. It’s also unclear from the AP’s report if artificial intelligence was involved in determining which images were flagged.

Some of the selections for deletion are concerning.

What we know about U.S. military's anti-DEI purge of WWII Enola Gay aircraft photos

According to news reports, the Pentagon flagged files because of the word "gay."

Published March 10, 2025

Updated March 11, 2025

Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

Article 8 of 15 in Collection

In March 2025, following U.S.

President Donald Trump's orders to remove all diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives from federal agencies, The Associated Press reported the Pentagon was purging images from its sites that violated the order. https://ndupress.ndu.edu/Media/Images/igphoto/2002060253/. Individuals are encouraged to bring content they believe was erroneously removed to Public Affairs' attention for review.

The spokesperson would not specify on the record what categories or keywords violated the anti-DEI order.

Accessed 10 Mar. 2025.

"Col.