Hegseth Scraps Fort Moore Name in Latest Move to Undo Congress’ Base Renamings

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Monday announced that he is renaming Fort Moore — the name chosen to honor decorated Vietnam Army commander Hal Moore and his wife Julia — less than two years after the base was scrubbed of its previous name honoring a Confederate general.

The Army will return the famed Georgia base to Fort Benning, the name originally chosen in honor of Confederate Henry Benning. However, to keep the name and adhere to a law passed by Congress to eliminate names honoring Confederates, Hegseth chose a World War I junior noncommissioned officer, Cpl. Fred G. Benning, who served with valor and earned the Distinguished Service Cross, as the base’s new namesake.

The latest renaming comes after President Donald Trump opposed a bipartisan push by Congress during his first term to remove the names of Confederates, who fought against the U.S. during the Civil War, from bases and military property. Trump vetoed the legislation but Congress overrode the veto, and Trump has now started to roll back the renaming of nine bases in the U.S.

The move Monday by Hegseth comes after the defense secretary ordered Fort Liberty, North Carolina, to return to Fort Bragg — though like the former Fort Moore, the new name honors Pfc. Roland Bragg, a World War II paratrooper who earned the Silver Star while serving with the 17th Airborne Division, instead of its original Confederate namesake,

The Georgia base was named in 2023 after Lt. Gen. Hal Moore, a Korean and Vietnam War veteran, known best for commanding 1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry Regiment, in the Battle of Ia Drang Valley in 1965 {snip}

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Hal Moore was a trailblazer in pushing for racial integration in the Army, advocating for Black soldiers to serve alongside their white counterparts at a time of deep-seated resistance within the ranks. His tenure in South Korea as commander of the 7th Infantry Division laid the groundwork for what would later become the Army’s equal opportunity policies.

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In the 2021 defense budget, Congress mandated the renaming of nine U.S. military installations that bore Confederate names, a move driven by efforts to remove tributes to those who fought against the Union and on the side of slavery.

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