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.
Louisiana's Fort Polk military base will be renamed Joint Readiness Training Center and Fort Johnson in honor of Sgt. William Henry Johnson, a Black US soldier during World War I who fought off about two dozen Germans alone, killing at least four. The renaming is part of an effort to strip Confederate leaders of the honor. Several other military bases have been renamed recently to honor people of color who made significant contributions with their service.
