1st all-female veterans Honor Flight from Chicago photo pulled from Pentagon website after DEI order

CHICAGO (WLS) -- Several female veterans are speaking up after the Pentagon's decision to remove images from their website.

It comes after President Donald Trump's executive order to get rid of images or words related to diversity, equity and inclusion, or DEI.

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Some of the images pulled were from the first all-female veterans flight out of Chicago in 2021. And those women said they weren't meant to be removed, but instead treasured.

It was supposed to be an image cemented into military history.

"Why would they have to remove anything about women veterans?" said Rochelle Crump, with Simone Robinson Military Women Veterans Center.

Instead, images of Operation HerStory's first all-female flight, in partnership with Honor Flight Chicago, was one of nearly 26,000 images removed from the Pentagon's database.

"We're going backwards. And it's just disheartening," Crump said.

The decision came after Trump signed an executive order taking aim at DEI programs in the military.

Crump, one of the veterans on the that all-female flight, said they had waited decades to be celebrated.

"You weren't accepted by the American Legion, VAD, VFW, those organizations; they thought we belong in the kitchen," Crump said.

The removal of images of the flight, packed with 93 female veterans, is something Ginny Narsete, founder of Operation HerStory, said she's using as an opportunity to take a stand.

"I see so many strong women in the military that we're not afraid to step in and say, 'Hey, so this isn't right. Let's do something about this,'" Narsete said.

In the last week, the Pentagon also removed images of veterans, such as Jackie Robinson and the Tuskegee Airmen. Some of those images were later restored.

A spokesperson with Honor Flight Chicago said in a statement, "Our organization has no formal connection with the Federal government or the decisions it makes, but the stories, images and videos from that day live on proudly through every partner organization who had a hand in its execution."

"That's what women and Blacks and Hispanic and the code talkers all have to do today. They have to stick together, and say, we belong there," Narsete said.

For those like Crump, photos of the start of her military career serve as reminder of why the work she's doing is so important, and why she says history can't be erased, if there are still those to speak up.

"We're going to make sure that we're heard some kind of way. We want to make sure we're heard," Crump said.

Operation HerStory says they are hoping to plan another all-female flight by next year.

Visit https://operationherstory.org for more information.