All articles tagged with #confederate names
The Pentagon is renaming seven military installations, including Fort Lee, to move away from Confederate-associated names, instead honoring Black heroes like Pvt. Fitz Lee, a Medal of Honor recipient from the Spanish-American War, as part of a broader effort to reconsider diversity and historical memory in the military.
President Trump announced plans to revert the names of U.S. Army bases that were renamed to honor Confederate generals back to their original or alternative names, bypassing laws aimed at removing Confederate symbols from the military, sparking controversy and highlighting ongoing debates over Confederate legacy and American history.
President Trump has ordered the return to original, Confederate-linked names for seven U.S. Army bases, reversing the Biden administration's recent renaming efforts, at a cost of nearly $40 million, with bases now honoring various military heroes instead of Confederate figures.
President Trump announced the reversal of efforts to rename seven U.S. Army bases that originally honored Confederate leaders, restoring their historic names amid controversy over honoring pro-slavery figures, reversing a process initiated under President Biden aimed at promoting diversity and addressing systemic racism.
Louisiana's Fort Polk, named after Confederate commander Leonidas Polk, has been renamed Fort Johnson to honor Sgt. William Henry Johnson, a Black hero of World War I who posthumously received the Medal of Honor in 2015. Johnson fought off a German night raid near the Argonne Forest, was wounded 21 times, and prevented a wounded Black comrade from being taken prisoner. The renaming of the base represents the latest in a push by the Biden administration to rename military installations honoring Confederate officers.
Fort Polk, an Army base in Louisiana named after a Confederate general, has been renamed Fort Johnson in honor of Sgt. William Henry Johnson, a Black soldier who received the Medal of Honor almost a century after his heroic actions during World War I. The renaming is part of a $62 million project to remove Confederate names and monuments from Army bases. Johnson's bravery prevented a dozen German soldiers from capturing his fellow soldier, and he was praised by American poet Langston Hughes and Theodore Roosevelt Jr. for his actions. The renaming is a small step towards inclusivity, but more needs to be done to address racial inequities in the military.
Fort Bragg, one of the largest military installations in the world, has been renamed Fort Liberty, dropping its Confederate namesake once and for all. The change is part of a broad Department of Defense initiative, motivated by the 2020 George Floyd protests, to rename military installations that had been named after Confederate soldiers. Nine bases across the country are being renamed at a cost of $39 million. While some veterans see it as a small but important step in making the U.S. Army more welcoming to current and prospective black service members, others disagree with the name change.
The US Army has renamed its largest base, Fort Hood, as Fort Cavazos, and Fort Lee as Fort Gregg-Adams, among others, as part of its plan to remove Confederate Army namesakes from nine bases. The renaming of Fort Liberty marks the halfway point of the effort, with three bases remaining. The new namesakes include Black Medal of Honor awardee Sgt. William Johnson and Hal Moore and his wife Julia, who led troops in Vietnam and formed support groups for the wives of those killed in action. The renaming effort was initially controversial but was established by Congress in 2021 after protests about police killings of unarmed Black people.
Fort Pickett, an Army base in Virginia, has been renamed Fort Barfoot in honor of Col. Van Barfoot, a World War II Medal of Honor recipient. This is the first of nine Army bases to be renamed this year as part of the Pentagon's decision to remove Confederate names from military assets. The Naming Commission, an independent panel created by Congress, is tasked with reviewing and renaming military assets bearing the names of Confederate leaders. Fort Barfoot is the only National Guard installation among the nine being renamed.
Fort Pickett, a military base in Virginia named after Confederate General George Pickett, will be renamed Fort Barfoot after Col. Van T. Barfoot, a World War II Medal of Honor recipient. The decision to rename the base was part of a congressional order to remove Confederate names from Defense Department installations and assets. The base, which employs about 1,000 civilian and military personnel, has been operated by the Virginia National Guard since 1997. The renaming process has gone smoothly, with many locals indifferent to the change and others supporting it.