Exclusive — Rep. Jim Banks Demands Answers After VA Bans Iconic Photo

Rep. Jim Banks (R-IN) is demanding that Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Secretary Denis McDonough answer for the VA’s plans to “ban one of the most beloved patriotic images captured in American history.”

In a Tuesday letter exclusively obtained by Breitbart News, Banks asked McDonough to confirm the authenticity of a memo, issued on Thursday, banning the photo at VA facilities. He asked for assurances that the VA would not ban the photo or carry out similar forms of censorship.

“As an Afghanistan veteran, the radical wokeness spreading throughout our military and Veterans Affairs makes me sick,” Banks told Breitbart News. “The men and women who risked their lives serving our country deserve much better than the incompetent, anti-American Biden administration.”

An X account called “End Wokeness” brought attention to the memo Tuesday morning, leading McDonough to respond on X, saying, “Let me be clear: This image is not banned from VA facilities – and we will keep it in VA facilities.”

Despite McDonough’s claims, the Military Times confirmed the memo’s authenticity, reporting:

The ban was announced internally at VA medical facilities late last month in a memo from RimaAnn Nelson, the Veterans Health Administration’s top operations official. Employees were instructed to “promptly” remove any depictions of the famous photo and replace it with imagery deemed more appropriate.

The memo’s contents quickly went viral Tuesday.

“The photograph, which depicts a non-consensual act, is inconsistent with the VA’s no-tolerance policy towards sexual harassment and assault,” the memo reads. It continues, “[t]o foster a more trauma-informed environment that promotes the psychological safety of our employees and the veterans we serve, photographs depicting the ‘V-J Day in Times Square’ should be removed from all Veterans Health Administration facilities.”

Banks is not having it. His letter says the beloved photo “succinctly captures the triumphant mood after the United States’ victory in the Pacific Theater during World War II. That the VA — or, at minimum, members of the senior leadership of the department — would seek to ban it in order to ‘foster a more trauma-informed environment’ is disturbing beyond comprehension.”

He said the photo “occupies an iconic spot not just in our collective memory of World War II but also in day-to-day American culture.”

Nelson, the author of the memo, is no stranger to controversy.

As AZ Central reported in 2016:

Nelson, who began her career as a nurse, was sent to the Philippines in 2013 after a series of incidents under her leadership at the VA St. Louis Health Care System. The Daily Caller, a non-profit, investigative news organization, said the incidents included two operational closures at the hospital due to medical safety issues, and potential exposure of HIV to hundreds of veterans.

A VA Office of Inspector General report verified that 1,812 patients were potentially affected in 2010 by breaches in the cleaning and sterilization of medical equipment over a period of months at John A. Cochran VA Medical Center. They faced possible exposure to hepatitis and HIV infections.

Her 2016 assignment to lead the Phoenix VA Medical Center drew widespread bipartisan criticism. 

“Oh, my God, really?” said U.S. Rep. Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ), then a Democrat, at the time. “This is outrageous.”

Banks’ letter presses McDonough on whether senior leadership knew about the actions taken by Nelson — “who ostensibly leads efforts related to the health of VA operations” — and if her judgment is compromised.

As the Military Times noted, Biden’s VA has prioritized instituting changes fostering inclusivity, even changing its motto and adopting gender-neutral language.

Bradley Jaye is a Capitol Hill Correspondent for Breitbart News. Follow him on X/Twitter at @BradleyAJaye.