Senator Ruben Gallego is advocating for the recognition of Native American veterans in U.S. military history. According to the Office of the Senator, he is working to ensure their contributions and sacrifices are acknowledged. Native Americans have the highest per capita service rate in the armed forces, and Gallego is pushing for their inclusion in historical records.
The Department of Defense recently removed mentions of Ira Hayes, a Gila River Marine who participated in the flag raising at Iwo Jima during World War II. In response, Senators Ruben Gallego and Mark Kelly sent a letter to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, requesting the reinstatement of references to Hayes and Lori Ann Piestewa, a Hopi Army veteran who was killed in combat during Operation Iraqi Freedom. Senator Gallego stated, "To erase Pfc. Hayes's and Specialist Piestewa's contributions to our history is to erase American history," as reported by the Office of the Senator.
The Department of Veterans Affairs' new policy on flag displays led to the removal of flags representing Arizona’s 22 tribal nations from the Carl T. Hayden VA Medical Center in Phoenix. This follows other removals, including information about the Navajo Code Talkers, a group of Marines who used their language to develop an unbreakable code during World War II. Senator Gallego opposed these actions and advocated for the restoration of the Code Talkers' webpages. He stated, "The Navajo Code Talkers were Marines and heroes who helped secure victory in WWII. We owe them a debt that can never be repaid. Trump can't erase their history just because he feels like it." The webpages have since been restored, as mentioned by the Office of the Senator.
