U.S. removal of panels honoring Black soldiers at WWII cemetery in the Netherlands draws backlash [View all]

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Source: NBC News/AP

Dec. 30, 2025, 5:00 AM EST / Source: The Associated Press


MARGRATEN, Netherlands — Ever since a U.S. military cemetery in the southern Netherlands removed two displays recognizing Black troops who helped to liberate Europe from the Nazis, visitors have filled the guestbook with objections.

Some time in the spring, the American Battle Monuments Commission, the U.S. government agency responsible for maintaining memorial sites outside the United States, removed the panels from the visitors center at the American Cemetery in Margraten, the final resting place for roughly 8,300 U.S. soldiers, set in rolling hills near the border with Belgium and Germany.

The move came after President Donald Trump issued a series of executive orders ending diversity, equity and inclusion programs. “Our country will be woke no longer,” Trump said in an address to Congress in March. The removal, carried out without public explanation, has angered Dutch officials, the families of U.S. soldiers and the local residents who honor the American sacrifice by caring for the graves.

U.S. Ambassador to the Netherlands Joe Popolo seemed to support the removal of the displays. “The signs at Margraten are not intended to promote an agenda that criticizes America,” he wrote on social media following a visit to the cemetery after the controversy had erupted. Popolo declined a request for comment.

Read more: https://www.nbcnews.com/world/europe/us-removal-panels-honoring-black-soldiers-wwii-cemetery-netherlands-rcna251475

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