Daniel "Chappie" James Jr. flew 101 combat missions in Korea and 78 in Vietnam. He stared down Qaddafi at an air base in Libya. He became the first Black four-star general in the history of the United States military. Ronald Reagan called him "a truly great American." Florida named a bridge after him. Pete Hegseth took down his portrait from the Air Force Art Gallery and left the wall empty. Colonel Gerald Curry passed that painting every day for more than a decade on the way to his office. He is writing a leadership book based on James's service. When the portrait came down, he said it "really, really hurt." Shortly after, he retired. Clint Smith interviewed two dozen currently serving, retired, and civilian Black military members for this piece. Person after person described the same thing: promotions blocked or delayed, senior Black and female officers dismissed, Confederate monuments restored, books about Black service members removed from military libraries, affinity groups disbanded. One training instructor described her team manually striking out passages about accomplished Black service members from educational materials - by hand, page by page. Hegseth at Quantico told 800 generals and admirals it was acceptable to "put hands" on subordinates and promised their records would be kept clean if they faced discrimination complaints. A retired Army officer told Smith his fear plainly: "If Pete Hegseth and the current administration had their way, you wouldn't see any of us in key leadership positions. I think the whole idea is to eliminate as many of us as they can, take us back as far as they can." Chappie James's words are engraved on his tombstone at Arlington: "This is my country and I believe in her." The Pentagon took down his portrait. His words are still there.

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