The Renaming Commission Has Announced the Contenders for Renaming Army Posts Named for Confederates – But How They Arrived at Many of Them Is Mystifying!

The Confederate renaming commission has narrowed down tens of thousands of recommendations into a list of 87 new names (see Below) for the nine (9) Army posts originally named in honor of Confederate troops.

The nine (9) Army posts on the renaming list are Forts Lee, A.P. Hill and Pickett, in Virginia; Forts Benning and Gordon in Georgia; Fort Bragg in North Carolina; Fort Rucker in Alabama; Fort Polk in Louisiana; and Fort Hood in Texas.

The Congressionally appointed Commission’s mission was to provide naming, renaming, and removal recommendations to Congress for all Department of Defense items that commemorate the Confederate States of America or any person who served voluntarily with the Confederate States of America.

Although retired Navy Admiral Michelle Howard, Chair of the Naming Commission, said in a news release: “It’s important that the names we recommend for these installations appropriately reflect the courage, values and sacrifices of our diverse military men and women …. We also are considering the local and regional significance of names and their potential to inspire and motivate our service members.” the Commission only included these seven names (highlighted Below Red Bold) that would even be recognizable to most Soldiers let alone the average American and definitely worthy of such recognition:

 

President/General of the Army the Army Dwight D. Eisenhower – President of the United States, Supreme Allied Commander Europe, and Chief of Staff Army.

 

General of the Army George C. Marshall – Chief of Staff Army (During WWII), Secretary of State, and Secretary of Defense.

 

General of the Army Omar N. Bradley – Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Chief of Staff Army and Head of the Veterans Affairs Administration.

 

General Colin Powell – Chairman of the Joint Chef of Staff, National Security Advisor and Secretary of State.

 

Sergeant/Major Alvin C. York –Medal of Honor Recipient and most celebrated Soldier of World War I.

 

Colonel Robert L. Howard - Medal of Honor Recipient and most decorated Soldier in the history of the Army and of the Vietnam Nam War (see below).

 

Major Audie L. Murphy - Medal of Honor Recipient and most decorated Soldier of World War II (see Below)

 

The choices were narrowed down from more than 34,000 submissions, including 3,670 unique names, according to the release. The names were gathered both from an online form and from site visits to the posts to speak with troops there and surrounding community leaders. What is mystifying is how the Commission selected many of the obscure and dubiously worthy candidates they did while not selecting such obviously noteworthy American heroes as General of the Armies John J. Pershing who led American Forces in World War I and was Chief of Staff Army, President/General of the Army Ulysses S. Grant who led the Union Army to victory in the Civil War, President/General Zachary Taylor who led the Army to victory in the Mexican-American War, or even General George S. Patton of World War II fame.  One other not so recognizable name but would be obvious to any Army Logistician would be General Johnnie E. Wilson, the first Black 4-Star Army Materiel Command commander.  In my opinion, Admiral Howard needs to reconvene her Commission and go back to the drawing board.

The Commission did not make any recommendations associating candidate names with specific Posts but the three that are beyond obvious are these three for Fort Hood, Fort Bragg and Fort Lee:

The first “no-brainer” has to be to name Fort Hood for Major Audie L. Murphy, a native Texan and the most decorated US Soldier of World War II. He had every award for valor the Army can award. Not only did he have the Medal of Honor but he also had the Distinguished Service Cross, the highest award the Army can award for Valor, two (2) Silver Stars, two (2) Bronze Stars for Valor and three (3) Purple Hearts. He also had several other US and foreign awards.  Significantly, all these awards were awarded during the largest War this country has ever fought with over 12 Million men and women in uniform and over 400,000 service members killed.

The second “no-brainer” has to be naming Fort Bragg, the home of the US Army Special Forces, for the most decorated US Soldier of the Vietnam War and in the entire history of the US Army, Colonel Robert L. Howard. A Green Beret, he was nominated for the Medal of Honor three times but received lesser medals for the first two nominations which were for actions performed in Cambodia where the U.S. was fighting covertly. He was finally awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions on December 30, 1968, his third nomination. In addition to the MOH, Colonel Howard was also awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, the highest award the Army can award for Valor, the Silver Stars, four (4) Bronze Stars for Valor and eight (8) Purple Hearts. He also had several other US and foreign awards. He had 54 months in combat and no other member of any service came even close to Colonel Howard’s record of valor in the Vietnam War.

The third "no brainer" has to be naming Fort Lee, the home of the US Army Sustainment Center of Excellence, for General Johnnie E. Wilson, who as the first Black Commanding

General of the Army Materiel Command (AMC), was the most senior Logistician in the entire US Army. He enlisted in the Army in1961 and in 1967 attended Officer Candidate School as a Staff Sergeant (E-6); upon graduation he was commissioned a second lieutenant in the Ordnance Corps. He held a wide variety of important command and staff positions including the Army Deputy Chief of Staff for Logistics, AMC Chief of Staff, and Commanding General of the Army Ordnance Center & School. In Vietnam he commanded the Maintenance Company in the 173d Airborne Brigade.