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A panel set up by Congress to identify new names for nine military installations in honor of Confederate military officers presented its recommendations Tuesday, bringing the Department of Defense one step closer to removing rebel names from some of its most famous bases. .
There are nine installations, all built in the first half of the 20th century in the former Confederate states and have often been named with contributions from regional leaders and groups who sympathize with the rebel cause.
The names recommended by the commission include, for the first time, women and other minorities, a striking departure from decades-long practice of naming military facilities for white men. The recommendations have yet to be presented to Congress, where some Republicans remain opposed to renaming the bases as part of an official report before they were approved by Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin.
From opinions: How to rename the army bases that honor the soldiers of the Confederacy
Efforts to rename the bases intensified in 2020 after the assassination of George Floyd, which rekindled a heated debate over the nation’s identity and its history of racism. The commission was set up in January 2021 as part of the annual defense bill, which required names to be changed within three years.
“Every name comes from or resonates with local communities,” said Tai Seydul, a retired one-star army general who serves as deputy chairman of the names committee, during a telephone conversation with the media to announce the list. The panel received more than 34,000 proposals from the public, Seidule said, from which they chose a short list of 3,670, which was then narrowed to less than 100 earlier this year.
The panel, made up of former military leaders, recommended that Fort Hood in Texas, in honor of Confederate General John Bell Hood, be renamed Fort Cavazos after Richard Cavazos, the first Spanish army brigadier general and native of Texas, who later commanded III building, which is based there.
Fort Lee in Virginia, named after Robert E. Lee, leader of the Confederate Army, will be renamed Fort Greg-Adams after two Black Army officers who broke through racial barriers in the service. When he was first stationed at Fort Lee, Arthur J. Greg, who enlisted in the 1940s and rose to the rank of three-star general and the highest-ranking black man in the army, was not even admitted to the all-white officers’ club. Eventually, this became the venue for the retirement ceremony. Meanwhile, Charity Adams was the first African-American woman to become an officer in the Women’s Auxiliary Corps and command a postal battalion abroad during World War II.
William Henry Johnson, a sergeant in the Black Army posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor, the nation’s highest award for military prowess, for feats on the battlefield during World War I, will become the new namesake of Fort Polk in Louisiana.
Fort AP Hill in Virginia, also named after a Confederate officer, could become Fort Walker after Mary Edwards Walker, a Civil War surgeon and the only woman to receive the Medal of Honor. She served on the battlefields of the British Commonwealth and was later imprisoned in Richmond during the war.
Army for a monument to a black soldier lynched at a base in Georgia 80 years ago
The commission also took the opportunity to recognize the military spouses, recommending that Fort Benning, Georgia, named after the Confederate enslaver and general, be renamed Fort Moore after Hal Moore and his wife Julia. Hal Moore received the Cross of Merit for his valiant deeds in Vietnam and later co-authored the book We Were Soldiers Once … and Young. Julia Moore has played an important role in changing the way the military informs the families of soldiers killed in battle.
Representative Adam Smith (D-Wash.), Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, issued a statement Tuesday declaring the list a “significant milestone” and a “first step in tackling Confederate symbolism in the US military.”
Representative Anthony G. Brown (D-Md.), A veteran of the military who is fiercely fighting for change, felt a similar note of optimism.
“I learned to fly helicopters at Fort Rucker. I settled in Iraq from Fort Bragg and won my jumping wings at Fort Benning. “All these bases honored men who didn’t want me or other black Americans to serve in uniform, let alone in Congress,” he said. “It’s more than just names and symbols; which our military chooses to honor sets the way forward for other necessary reforms to make our armed services more inclusive, diverse and fair. “
Not everyone the proposed name raises the stories of individual servicemen whose heroism has long remained relatively unknown. Dwight D. Eisenhower, a famous general during World War II and The 34th president of the United States was elected by the commission to succeed Fort Gordon in Georgia, near the Augusta National Golf Club, where he plays. And for Fort Bragg in North Carolina, the commission chose “Liberty” as the new name.
In all, of the nine bases for which the commission proposed new names, three were proposed to be dedicated to women, in whole or in part, two to black Americans, one to a Hispanic and one to a soldier of Native American descent. Three were recommended in honor of white men, and one – Freedom – concept.
“Do I think people will disagree with some of our conclusions?” “I have no doubt about that,” Seidule said. However, he defended the choice, saying: “We listened carefully to the communities in any case and certainly in the case of our recommendation for Fort Liberty.”
Seidule said the commission relied on the post commander at each base to convene a “broad representation” of local stakeholders, including “leaders of the faith, these soldiers on duty, leaders on duty”, to weigh their views. When asked, he said women and minorities were represented at every gathering.
“We were looking for names to inspire the nation,” Seidule said. “We are a diverse group that came up with these names and we did it unanimously.”
Austin issued a statement of thanks to the committee for its work to date. “Today’s announcement highlights the commission’s efforts to propose nine new names for installations that reflect the courage, values, sacrifices and diversity of our military men and women,” he said. “… I look forward to seeing their full report later this year.”
The other names suggested nod to troops whose legacy has been neglected.
Fort Rucker in Alabama, home of the Army Air Force, will be named after Michael Novosel Sr., a pilot who volunteered in his 40s to fight in Vietnam after serving in World War II and Korea. He later rescued his son from a downed helicopter, which in turn rescued his father in a separate incident a week later. The election of Novosel, winner of the Medal of Honor, was aimed at recognizing “generational service, a common trend in the modern army,” the commission said.
Fort Pickett, Virginia, will be renamed Van Barfoot, a Mississippi Choctaw Indian whose bravery became a legend during World War II. Barfut, as part of an attack on German positions in Italy, broke away under heavy fire to storm three machine guns, killing and capturing several enemies. Later in the day, again alone, he used a bazooka to destroy a tank before escorting two wounded soldiers nearly a mile to the emergency room. He also received the Medal of Honor.
The commission was also tasked with identifying other military assets with links to the Confederacy, including street and building names, which it would also consider renaming. He found more than 750 items at military sites.
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