Visitors to a US military cemetery in the Netherlands have voiced anger after two displays recognising Black American troops who fought in Europe during World War II were quietly removed.
The panels were taken down in the spring from the visitors centre at the American Cemetery in Margraten, where about 8,300 US soldiers are buried near the Belgian and German borders. The site is overseen by the American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC), a US government agency responsible for American memorials abroad.
The removal followed a series of executive orders by US President Donald Trump that ended diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programmes. “Our country will be woke no longer,” Trump said in a March address to Congress. No public explanation was given at the time for the decision.
The move has upset Dutch officials, families of fallen soldiers and local residents, many of whom have spent decades honouring the dead by tending individual graves.
US Ambassador to the Netherlands Joe Popolo appeared to defend the decision. After visiting the cemetery amid the controversy, he wrote on social media that the displays were “not intended to promote an agenda that criticises America”. He later declined to comment further.
The displays highlighted the sacrifices of Black Americans
The removed panels highlighted the experiences of Black Americans during the war. One told the story of George H. Pruitt, a 23-year-old Black soldier buried at Margraten who died in 1945 while trying to rescue a drowning comrade. The other explained the racial segregation that defined the US military during World War II.
Around one million Black Americans enlisted during the war, serving in segregated units. Many were assigned menial tasks, though some saw combat. At Margraten, an all-Black unit dug thousands of graves during the brutal winter of 1944–45, known in the German-occupied Netherlands as the Hunger Winter.
Among those objecting to the panels’ removal is Cor Linssen, 79, the son of a Black American soldier and a Dutch mother. He grew up about 50 kilometres from the cemetery and later discovered his father’s identity.
“When I was born, the nurse thought something was wrong with me because I was the wrong colour,” he told The Associated Press. “I was the only dark child at school.”
Linssen and other children of Black soldiers, now in their 70s and 80s, visited the cemetery in February 2025, hoping to see the displays.