Staffers for Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth damaged a historic globe used by Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower during World War II while attempting to move it to his office in February. Three U.S. officials confirmed the incident, which involved dropping the globe and creating a hole in its frame. The globe, cataloged by the U.S. Army Center of Military History and displayed in the Pentagon, was marked with green pen notations indicating areas in Europe during WWII. Rather than using Army historians to move the artifact, Hegseth’s staff attempted the relocation themselves. A Pentagon official initially claimed the globe was a replica, but NBC News verified with three officials and a photograph that it was the original. Craters & Freighters, a company that moved a similar globe in 2022, described the careful packaging and crating required for safe transport. Eisenhower, as supreme commander of the Allied Expeditionary Forces, oversaw the Normandy landings in 1944 and later served as the 34th president of the United States.
The Hill reported the globe was a 30-inch floor globe, while NBC News did not specify its size, but noted it was mounted in a wooden frame. Both outlets reported the damage occurred when staffers attempted to move the globe to Hegseth’s office.
Our reading is that this incident, while seemingly minor, reveals a pattern of disregard for established procedure within Defense Secretary Hegseth’s office. The decision to bypass Army historians in handling a sensitive historical artifact, coupled with the initial false claim about its authenticity, suggests a willingness to prioritize speed or personal preference over careful stewardship of military history. The fact that the damage occurred during an attempt to move the globe *to* Hegseth’s office further implies a degree of entitlement or a belief that normal protocols do not apply to him.
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