The US National Guard applauded the army’s establishment on social media but mistakenly tweeted a video of a Nazi tank from World War II.
On June 15, the US National Guard’s official Twitter account posted a video commemorating the 247th anniversary of the army’s existence, featuring images of the US Army engaging in several previous wars. However, when it showed Nazi tanks moving during World War II, the video instantly drew the attention of social media users.
The post was promptly removed, and the US National Guard apologized for the gaffe.
“The tweet you mention was posted by an Army National Guard Twitter account,” National Guard Bureau spokesman Kurt M. Rauschenberg said.
“Regrettably, the team who produced the social media video was unaware that the clip, sourced from a DVIDS [Defense Visual Information Distribution Service] clip featuring footage from the U.S. Army Center of Military History, involved a German tank.”
However, the Twitter fam was taken aback, and the National Guard was called in instantly.
“Immediately after a comment was made about the tank in question, the clip was removed and edited,” Rauschenberg said. “This was an honest mistake as it was meant to depict historical footage in association with the Army’s 247th birthday.”
Ironically, the shot of the American flag being hoisted on Iwo Jima Mt. Suribachi was taken by Press photographer Joe Rosenthal, who received a Pulitzer Prize for the most published photograph.
Hagerty later apologised for his birthday tweet, replacing it with a photo of saluting soldiers in front of the US flag.
