The US Department of Defense got a lot of heat when a page about Army Maj. Gen. Charles Calvin Rogers—a Black officer who served in Vietnam—suddenly disappeared from its website. The page highlighted his achievements, but for a while, it was just gone, and people weren’t happy about it.
Charles Calvin Rogers, a veteran who served in Vietnam, was awarded the Medal of Honor
According to the page, it was his leadership in a tough battle that earned him the award. He officially received it from President Nixon on May 14, 1970.
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But the website page was suddenly removed
Out of nowhere, the page just vanished. On March 15, people noticed that the link, which used to show info about the veteran, showed a ‘404’ error message.
And then there were some major changes to the page
The page is back now, and it looks pretty much the same. But before that happened, people noticed some big changes. It wasn’t just the removal that caught people’s attention—turns out, the URL for his entry got switched up too.
People quickly spotted that the URL had been changed
It used to just say “medal,” but now it reads “deimedal.” That little change got people talking, since it seemed to hint at a connection to a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) program—the one Trump has been pushing back on since coming back to office.
Trump issued an order targeting diversity policies
Right after Trump’s inauguration, the White House put out an order cracking down on diversity policies. It stated that the U.S. is committed to protecting civil rights while promoting hard work and individual success. The order also told all government agencies to shut down anything that involved “discriminatory and illegal preferences” or similar policies.
There was a HUGE public backlash after that on social media
People online were furious when Rogers’ page disappeared.
One person on Twitter didn’t hold back, saying, “This is infuriating. Charles Rogers is a Black Medal of Honor recipient for his heroism in Vietnam. The Department of Defense just took down his page and changed the URL to ‘deimedal-of-honor.’ DEI. This is an insult to his legacy.”
Rogers was a true fighter
He showed extreme bravery in combat. The site describes how he ran straight through a storm of exploding shells to rally his shaken soldiers, leading them even after getting hit. He was wounded again but kept going—taking down enemy soldiers and pushing the rest back. Even then, he refused medical help, focusing instead on securing the defensive line.
His legacy included fighting for equality
Beyond his bravery in combat, Rogers also stood for equality. According to the page—before it was taken down—he fought for both gender and racial equality during his time in the service.
