New Delhi: United States Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth’s staff damaged a historic World War II-era floor globe associated with President Dwight D Eisenhower. In an attempt to relocate it to the secretary’s Pentagon office earlier this year, the team broke the General’s memorabilia in the process, reported The Washington Post. The Pentagon as well as Army officials have subsequently confirmed the report.
The 30-inch globe is one of two 1930s artefacts housed in the Pentagon that are linked to Eisenhower’s military command during World War II. Subsequent generations of Army leaders have served as custodians of these pieces. Drawn to their historical significance, Hegseth requested that one be moved to his office.
The incident, first detailed in the Washington Post’s exclusive on 22 October, has since drawn attention both inside and outside the Pentagon.
What happened to Eisenhower’s globe?
Standard procedure for relocating such historical items requires oversight by trained curators from the US Army Center of Military History.
On 3 February, the specialists were unavailable because they were furloughed due to a partial government shutdown, and Hegseth’s staff proceeded with the move themselves rather than waiting.
“They lost control of the artefact and dropped it, sending the globe crashing onto its base and impaling the fragile shell near Antarctica. The resulting gash appears to be several inches wide,” The Washington Post described the incident as reported by witnesses.
One source attributed the decision not to wait for experts to an “apparent lack of patience.”
Photographs obtained by the newspaper documented the damage on the historical globe, including fragments on the carpet.
Army spokesman Christopher Surridge confirmed that the globe was damaged during an “attempted move.”
Aside from the hole near Antarctica, “the spherical portion of the globe was detached from the metal mounting that allows it to rotate,” he said in a written response.
An official from the Defence Department later issued a statement to the Post, acknowledging the mishap.
“Accidents happen; we are grateful no one was harmed, and the globe is being repaired,” the statement read.
The expected cost or timeline for repairs was not disclosed.
“Hegseth wants an Eisenhower totem to be like Ike, brilliant in war and peace. Hegseth is no Ike. The globe won’t give him Ike’s attributes of humility, intellect and judgment,” retired Brigadier General Ty Seidule, a former West Point military history professor, told the newspaper.
(Edited by Insha Jalil Waziri)