Staff working for Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth damaged a historic globe linked to Dwight D. Eisenhower while attempting to move it into the secretary's Pentagon office without specialist assistance, according to reporting that has prompted conflicting accounts about the artifact's identity.
Three U.S. officials told NBC News that the globe was an original used by Eisenhower during World War II. The Pentagon acknowledged the accident but described the damaged object as a replica and said repairs were underway.
The February 3 incident occurred during a partial government shutdown, when specialist historical personnel were unavailable. Hegseth had expressed a desire to have the globe in his office, according to the officials, and several staff members attempted the move themselves rather than waiting for Army historians.
The globe fell during the relocation, damaging its shell and separating the sphere from its rotating metal support. Photographs published months afterward showed substantial damage near Antarctica. The object was not successfully moved into Hegseth's office.
"The spherical portion of the globe was detached from the metal mounting that allows it to rotate," Army spokesman Christopher Surridge said.
The Washington Post first reported the incident Thursday. NBC subsequently said its interviews with three officials and examination of a photograph supported identifying the object as the original globe, contradicting the Pentagon's description.
"An accident occurred while staff were transporting a replica of the Eisenhower globe as part of its relocation. Accidents happen, we are grateful no one was harmed, and the globe is being repaired," a Pentagon official said.
The Pentagon did not immediately answer NBC's further request for information. No restoration timetable, repair cost or detailed conservation plan was established in the supplied reporting.
The globe, described as dating to the 1930s, had been displayed in a senior Army office at the Pentagon. NBC reported that it is cataloged and maintained by the U.S. Army Center of Military History.
Its reported association with Eisenhower includes green markings that officials told NBC he made to identify locations in Europe during the war. An accompanying plaque reportedly connects the globe to his Army General Staff service in 1942, including assignments in the War Plans and Operations divisions.
The available accounts differ in how firmly they establish that history. While NBC identified it as Eisenhower's original, the Pentagon's replica claim and uncertainty surrounding the markings leave its provenance disputed publicly.
Eisenhower later served as supreme commander of Allied forces in Europe and approved the Normandy landings of June 6, 1944. He became the 34th U.S. president in January 1953.
The reporting does not establish that Hegseth personally instructed staff to proceed without specialists or that anyone deliberately damaged the globe.
A separate relocation illustrates the precautions used for a similar artifact. In December 2022, the Center of Military History hired Craters & Freighters to transport another Eisenhower globe between Army facilities in Alabama.
That object stood about four feet high and measured roughly 40 inches across, according to the company. Craters & Freighters said it developed "precise packaging and crating designs" to protect it during the move.
