Members of a federal Naming Commission, tasked with changing the name of nine military installations that honor Confederate figures, have completed their work and submitted their final report to Congress ahead of schedule and under budget.
Two of the nine military bases, Fort Benning and Fort Gordon, are in Georgia. The Naming Commission recommended Fort Gordon be renamed Fort Eisenhower after former President and four-star General Dwight D. Eisenhower.
The commission recommended Fort Benning be renamed Fort Moore after Lt. Gen. Hal Moore and Julia Moore. Lt. Gen. Moore fought in the Korean and Vietnam wars and coauthored the bestselling book “We Were Soldiers Once … and Young.” Julia Moore supported military families back home during the wars. Both are buried at Fort Benning.
In an announcement released Monday, the Naming Commission announced the last part of its three-part final report was submitted to Congress Monday and included additional recommendations in the remaining of the military bases. The list of potential names was narrowed down from more than 34,000 the commission received from the public.
The commission had until Oct. 1 and a budget of $2 million to submit its final recommendations to Congress.
“We finished on time, spending only a quarter of the money authorized by Congress and returning $1.7 million dollars to the taxpayers,” Retired Army Brig. Gen. Ty Seidule, the vice chair of the Naming Commission, said in the release.
The Pentagon is expected to act on the commission’s recommendations, including the renaming of military bases and Department of Defense Assets, by 2024, which will have an estimated cost of $62.5 million, according to the final report.
The commission was created by Congress amid racial tensions across the country following the deaths of George Floyd in Minneapolis and Ahmaud Arbery in coastal Georgia. It was tasked with submitting a final report with recommendations to remove, rename or modify “names, symbols, displays, monuments and paraphernalia” that represented the Confederacy.
Fort Gordon, located outside Augusta, is named after John Gordon, who commanded half of Robert E. Lee’s army during the Civil War. Fort Benning, just outside of Columbus, was named after Henry Benning, a Confederate general.
The commission also recommended the following military bases be renamed:
- North Carolina – Fort Bragg to Fort Liberty, in commemoration of the American value of Liberty
- Alabama – Fort Rucker to Fort Novosel, in commemoration of CW4 Michael J. Novosel Sr.
- Louisiana – Fort Polk to Fort Johnson, in commemoration of Sgt. William Henry Johnson
- Texas – Fort Hood to Fort Cavazos, in commemoration of Gen. Richard E. Cavazos
- Virginia – Fort A.P. Hill to Fort Walker, in commemoration of Dr. Mary Edwards Walker
- Virginia – Fort Lee to Fort Gregg-Adams, in commemoration of Lt. Gen. Arthur J. Gregg and Lt. Col. Charity Adams
- Virginia – Fort Pickett to Fort Barfoot, in commemoration of Tech. Sgt. Van T. Barfoot
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