Overview
- Two informational panels honoring African American servicemembers were taken down at the Netherlands American Cemetery’s visitor center, one profiling Technician Fourth Class George H. Pruitt and another detailing segregation in the U.S. military.
- ABMC says the Pruitt display is off display but still in rotation, while the segregation panel was retired following an internal review conducted under a previous secretary.
- Eleven parties in Limburg’s provincial assembly condemned the removals as improper and unacceptable and filed formal questions seeking the panels’ return.
- Limburg King’s Commissioner Emile Roemer intends to raise the issue with U.S. Ambassador Joseph Popolo and ABMC leadership, as local authorities discuss creating a permanent memorial.
- Margraten contains more than 8,200 American graves, including 174 African American servicemembers buried or memorialized, and relatives and historians contend the removals reflect a wider U.S. rollback of DEI-linked content.