{"id":5447,"date":"2025-09-26T16:11:34","date_gmt":"2025-09-26T21:11:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2025\/09\/26\/medals-awarded-for-wounded-knee-massacre-wont-be-rescinded-hegseth-announces-2\/"},"modified":"2025-09-26T16:11:34","modified_gmt":"2025-09-26T21:11:34","slug":"medals-awarded-for-wounded-knee-massacre-wont-be-rescinded-hegseth-announces-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2025\/09\/26\/medals-awarded-for-wounded-knee-massacre-wont-be-rescinded-hegseth-announces-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Medals awarded for Wounded Knee Massacre won\u2019t be rescinded, Hegseth announces"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/missouriindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/591A6144-1024x683-1.jpg\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-post-image\" alt=\"Plastic flowers and American flags are placed atop graves at the Wounded Knee Memorial and cemetery on June 30, 2024. (Makenzie Huber\/South Dakota Searchlight)\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Plastic flowers and American flags are placed atop graves at the Wounded Knee Memorial and cemetery on June 30, 2024. (Makenzie Huber\/South Dakota Searchlight)<\/p>\n<p><span>U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth announced Thursday that Medals of Honor awarded to U.S. soldiers for their role in the Wounded Knee Massacre will not be rescinded.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The massacre occurred on Dec. 29, 1890. Lakota people were camped near Wounded Knee Creek on the Pine Ridge Reservation in southwestern South Dakota, where they were surrounded by hundreds of Army soldiers. A shot rang out while the soldiers tried to disarm the camp, and chaotic shooting ensued.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Fewer than 40 soldiers were killed (some by friendly fire, according to historians), while estimates of Lakota deaths ran from 200 to 300 or more, depending on the source. After some of the bodies froze on the ground for several days, a military-led burial party placed them in a mass grave.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Hegseth used the word \u201cbattle\u201d to describe the massacre.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cUnder my direction, we\u2019re making it clear, without hesitation, that the soldiers who fought in the Battle of Wounded Knee in 1890 will keep their medals,\u201d Hegseth said in a <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/SecWar\/status\/1971342502650429458\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">video posted to social media<\/a>. \u201cAnd we\u2019re making it clear that they deserve those medals. This decision is now final, and their place in our nation\u2019s history is no longer up for debate.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Hegseth\u2019s predecessor during the Biden administration, Lloyd Austin, created <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/southdakotasearchlight.com\/2024\/07\/24\/defense-secretary-orders-review-of-wounded-knee-massacre-medals\/\" target=\"_blank\"><span>a panel<\/span><\/a><span> last year to review the medals. At the time, the Defense Department said \u201capproximately 20\u201d soldiers had received a Medal of Honor for participating in the massacre. Historians have noted that the records associated with some of the medals are incomplete or unclear.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>There was no public report from the panel and no public action on the matter by the Biden administration before Biden left office. Hegseth held up a report in his social media video that he said was generated by that panel in October, but the Defense Department has not published it. A request from South Dakota Searchlight for the report is pending with the department.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cUpon deliberation, that panel concluded that these brave soldiers should, in fact, rightfully keep their medals from actions in 1890,\u201d Hegseth said.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Hegseth alleged the prior administration was too concerned with being \u201cpolitically correct\u201d to share a final decision.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Oliver \u201cOJ\u201d Semans, a Rosebud Sioux tribal member who advocates for the revocation of the medals, said he wasn\u2019t surprised by Hegseth\u2019s statements. Semans said he felt the review panel\u2019s makeup was skewed toward protecting the military\u2019s image.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cI think it\u2019s a shame that Secretary Hegseth was misled by his predecessor\u2019s report,\u201d Semans said.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Past efforts to rescind the medals through congressional action have failed. U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Massachusetts, introduced another bill to do so <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.congress.gov\/bill\/119th-congress\/senate-bill\/1915\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span>this year<\/span><\/a><span>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>U.S. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-South Dakota, was at a public event Friday in Rapid City, about 90 miles from Wounded Knee. Thune said the decision was Hegseth\u2019s to make and that the decision was supported by an \u201cindependent review.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>South Dakota Searchlight asked Thune if he agreed with Hegseth\u2019s use of the word \u201cbattle\u201d and Hegseth\u2019s statement that the soldiers \u201cdeserve those medals.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhenever you\u2019re talking about those types of events in our nation\u2019s history, you need to do it in a respectful way,\u201d Thune said. \u201cI didn\u2019t watch what he said, but like I said, I think the decision that he issued is the one that everybody will end up having to adhere to.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><em>South Dakota Searchlight\u2019s Seth Tupper contributed to this report.<\/em><\/p>\n<div class=\"snrPubNote\">\n<p>This story was originally produced by <a href=\"https:\/\/southdakotasearchlight.com\/2025\/09\/26\/medals-awarded-for-wounded-knee-massacre-wont-be-rescinded-hegseth-announces\/\" target=\"_blank\">South Dakota Searchlight<\/a>, which is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network which includes Missouri Independent, and is supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity.<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Plastic flowers and American flags are placed atop graves at the Wounded Knee Memorial and cemetery on June 30, 2024. (Makenzie Huber\/South Dakota Searchlight) U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth announced Thursday that Medals of Honor awarded to U.S. soldiers for their role in the Wounded Knee Massacre will not be rescinded. The massacre occurred&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":5448,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kadence_starter_templates_imported_post":false,"_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5447","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Medals awarded for Wounded Knee Massacre won\u2019t be rescinded, Hegseth announces - WestplexNews.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2025\/09\/26\/medals-awarded-for-wounded-knee-massacre-wont-be-rescinded-hegseth-announces-2\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Medals awarded for Wounded Knee Massacre won\u2019t be rescinded, Hegseth announces - WestplexNews.com\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Plastic flowers and American flags are placed atop graves at the Wounded Knee Memorial and cemetery on June 30, 2024. (Makenzie Huber\/South Dakota Searchlight) U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth announced Thursday that Medals of Honor awarded to U.S. soldiers for their role in the Wounded Knee Massacre will not be rescinded. The massacre occurred...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2025\/09\/26\/medals-awarded-for-wounded-knee-massacre-wont-be-rescinded-hegseth-announces-2\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"WestplexNews.com\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-09-26T21:11:34+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/missouriindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/591A6144-1024x683-1.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Brad Hildebrand\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Brad Hildebrand\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2025\/09\/26\/medals-awarded-for-wounded-knee-massacre-wont-be-rescinded-hegseth-announces-2\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2025\/09\/26\/medals-awarded-for-wounded-knee-massacre-wont-be-rescinded-hegseth-announces-2\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Brad Hildebrand\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/#\/schema\/person\/86ac6e2a917ca881b22f6d55d1b955f0\"},\"headline\":\"Medals awarded for Wounded Knee Massacre won\u2019t be rescinded, Hegseth announces\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-09-26T21:11:34+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2025\/09\/26\/medals-awarded-for-wounded-knee-massacre-wont-be-rescinded-hegseth-announces-2\/\"},\"wordCount\":647,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2025\/09\/26\/medals-awarded-for-wounded-knee-massacre-wont-be-rescinded-hegseth-announces-2\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/591A6144-1024x683-1-svHpoD.jpg\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2025\/09\/26\/medals-awarded-for-wounded-knee-massacre-wont-be-rescinded-hegseth-announces-2\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2025\/09\/26\/medals-awarded-for-wounded-knee-massacre-wont-be-rescinded-hegseth-announces-2\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2025\/09\/26\/medals-awarded-for-wounded-knee-massacre-wont-be-rescinded-hegseth-announces-2\/\",\"name\":\"Medals awarded for Wounded Knee Massacre won\u2019t be rescinded, Hegseth announces - 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