Hegseth and the Wounded Knee Medals: A Shameful Rewrite of History



Once again, the Trump-aligned administration is trying to twist history to fit its MAGA-centered narrative. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth recently announced that the 19 soldiers who received Medals of Honor for the 1890 Wounded Knee Massacre will keep their awards¹. This decision isn’t just controversial—it’s a moral failure and an affront to truth.

The Wounded Knee Massacre took place on December 29, 1890, when the U.S. Army’s 7th Cavalry Regiment slaughtered roughly 250 Lakota Sioux men, women, and children². The attack was framed as an effort to disarm the Lakota, yet the disproportionate violence and targeting of innocents made it a massacre, not a battle. Remarkably, the Army awarded 20 Medals of Honor to soldiers involved³. Critics argue this was not valor—it was glorification of atrocity.

In 2024, then-Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin ordered a review of these medals after Congress urged reconsideration⁴. Yet Hegseth dismissed this review as “politically correct” posturing, doubling down on a decision that celebrates murder rather than condemns it⁵. His rhetoric reflects an alarming willingness to subordinate truth, morality, and historical accountability to political ideology.

Native American leaders and organizations condemned Hegseth’s decision. The National Congress of American Indians called it “another act of violence” against the Lakota people⁶. The Wounded Knee Massacre remains a painful chapter in American history—a chapter that should be remembered accurately, not whitewashed to fit a narrative of military glorification.

This action is part of a larger pattern of historical revisionism pushed by Trump-aligned officials: restoring Confederate-linked base names, downplaying systemic injustices in textbooks, and attempting to control how history is taught and remembered⁷. By celebrating medals given for atrocities, the administration is sending a dangerous message: loyalty to ideology supersedes justice, morality, and human dignity.

Hegseth’s decision also undermines the credibility of U.S. military awards. Medals of Honor are meant to recognize extraordinary valor, often at the cost of a soldier’s life. When awards are attached to atrocities against civilians, it cheapens the honor and dishonors those who have truly earned it in service to ethical principles.

The moral of the story is clear: rewriting history to serve a political agenda does not make it right. America deserves leaders who confront uncomfortable truths, acknowledge mistakes, and uphold ethical standards—not leaders who celebrate past crimes for ideological convenience. Hegseth’s decision is a stark reminder of the dangers of nationalist revisionism, and the cost is paid by the truth and the victims of history.

Footnotes:

1. AP News. “Pentagon Says Wounded Knee Medals of Honor Will Stand.” 

2. Wikipedia. “Wounded Knee Massacre.” 

3. Wikipedia. “Wounded Knee Massacre — Medal of Honor Awards.” 

4. AP News. “Austin Ordered Review of Wounded Knee Medals.” 

5. The Guardian. “Pete Hegseth Upholds Wounded Knee Medals.” 

6. National Congress of American Indians. “Statement on Pentagon Decision on Wounded Knee Medals.” 

7. The Guardian. “Trump Administration Pushes Historical Revisionism.” 

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