Photo: AFP
The removal of two displays honoring Black American soldiers at a U.S. military cemetery in the Netherlands has drawn backlash from Dutch officials, residents, and families of fallen troops, per NBC News.
The panels were taken down earlier this year from the visitors center at the Netherlands American Cemetery in Margraten, where about 8,300 U.S. soldiers are buried. The cemetery is maintained by the American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) and is widely supported by local Dutch families who adopt and care for the graves.
The removal came amid a series of executive orders issued by President Donald Trump ending federal DEI programs.
While the ABMC initially offered no public explanation for the move, emails obtained by the Jewish Telegraphic Agency and Dutch News showed the policy shift directly influenced the decision.
One of the removed displays honored George H. Pruitt, a 23-year-old Black soldier buried at Margraten who died in 1945 while trying to rescue a fellow serviceman. The second explained racial segregation in the U.S. military during World War II, when roughly one million Black Americans served in segregated units, often assigned menial tasks. An all-Black unit dug many of the graves at Margraten during the brutal 1944-45 Hunger Winter.
Visitors have since filled the cemetery’s guestbook with objections. Cor Linssen, 79, the son of a Black American soldier and a Dutch woman, called the removal “an important part of history being erased.”
“They should put the panels back,” Lissen said.
The ABMC said the segregation panel “did not fall within [its] commemorative mission” and that the Pruitt display was “rotated out.” It was replaced with a panel honoring a white soldier buried at the site.
Dutch officials have demanded the panels’ return, and the Black Liberators foundation is seeking a permanent location for a memorial honoring Black soldiers. Historian Linda Hervieux, author of “Forgotten,” said the move reflects “a historical pattern of writing out the stories of people of color."
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