Not that Benning: Hegseth renames Fort Moore, but not for Confederate general, he says

USA Today

04-03-2025

Not that Benning: Hegseth renames Fort Moore, but not for Confederate general, he says
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Hegseth: 'Diversity is our strength' is dumbest phrase in military history
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth called 'diversity is our strength' the dumbest phrase in military history.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth renamed Fort Moore to Fort Benning, following through on his pledge to restore the original names of military bases, also including Fort Bragg – but not exactly honoring their Confederate namesakes.
Hegseth renamed the Georgia base in honor of Cpl. Fred G. Benning, a World War I veteran awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, and not the Confederate general for whom it was originally named, according to a memo released Monday. Earlier this month, Hegseth also renamed Fort Bragg – another base whose original Confederate-inspired name was restored – in that case to honor a distinguished World War II soldier named Roland Bragg.
Hegseth had vowed to revert to the former names as part of his sprawling effort to erase diversity programs throughout the military. In his first remarks as defense Secretary, he referred to the bases as Fort Bragg and Fort Benning, hinting at changes to come. Last year, he called names like Liberty and Moore "garbage," and said changing them "breaks" a "generational link."
Fort Benning's name was changed to Fort Moore in 2023 in honor of Hal Moore, a Vietnam War general, and his wife Julia. Hal Moore was highly decorated for his service during the battle of Ia Drang. Julia Moore changed the way the Army notifies families of servicemembers killed in action through her activism.
Ty Seidule, a retired Army brigadier general and co-chairman of the commission that swapped out names of Confederate soldiers who waged war against the United States for American heroes, blasted the decision on Monday. He called Hegseth's decision 'capricious and cruel.'
'I'm heartbroken. First family to ever be recognized. First spouse. Legendary heroes who are buried on the post,' Seidule said. 'The Moores were and are an inspiration to all soldiers and all Americans.'
Hegseth's decision, Seidule said, overturns the will of the American people. Congress created the commission and accepted its findings.
'Commemoration reflects our values and nobody better reflects the values and mission of Fort Moore than the Moore family,' Seidule said.
The base's name was changed, along with that of Fort Bragg in North Carolina – which was renamed Fort Liberty during the Biden administration. Fort Cavazos – formerly Fort Hood – in Texas was renamed in honor of Richard Cavazos, the first Hispanic American four-star general.
More: Fort Liberty now Fort Bragg. What's the history behind the name and Hegseth's decision?
The changes came as part of an effort in Congress to scrub the names of Confederates from public tributes amid a national reckoning about institutional racism in the wake of George Floyd's murder. A commission created during former President Joe Biden's presidency issued recommendations for new names for bases, streets and monuments that honored Confederate leaders.
By picking names slightly different from those of the bases' original honorees, Hegseth skirted a Biden-era law that barred them from being named after people who fought against the U.S. in the Confederacy.
As part of the Trump administration's push to eradicate diversity initiatives, Hegseth has banned transgender people from the military and ditched official Defense Department celebrations such as Black History Month. Hegseth also ordered 8% of the military's spending next year to be redirected from "low-impact" Biden-era initiatives, including diversity programs, towards the military's "core mission of deterring and winning wars."
Corporal Benning, who served during World War I, received the Distinguished Service Cross, the Army's second-highest honor for valor, for his heroism on Oct. 9, 1918, in France.
Benning's platoon commander had been killed and two non-commissioned officers had been wounded in fighting south of Exermont, France. Benning then led the remaining 20 men through heavy fire to their mission supporting the Meuse-Argonne offensive, according to the Army.
Hal and Julia Moore's son explains Fort Benning name change
Retired Army Col. David Moore, Hal and Julia Moore's son, told USA TODAY in 2023 that he had grown to understand why Fort Benning's name was changed. He had lived there as a 3-year-old and went on to graduate from West Point in 1984.
Times had changed, he said, and naming the base after his parents who had loved their family, soldiers and the military profession made sense.
"In the end, it's the kind of force we put on the battlefield to win our nation's wars," Moore said. "I just hope and pray that this helps build a better culture for generations of soldiers and families behind me."
Henry Benning, for whom the base was originally named in 1918, had been an 'ardent secessionist, bitter opponent of abolition and senior officer in the Confederate Army,' according to the Army's website. 'He is on record as saying that he would rather be stricken with illness and starvation than see slaves liberated and given equality as citizens.'