The Congressional Naming Commission (CNC), which was set up to remove the names of Confederate generals from American military bases, released its list of nine recommendations, AP reports.
The suggested names come from a diverse list of people.
The CNC recommended North Carolina’s Fort Bragg, named for Confederate General Braxton Bragg, be renamed Fort Liberty, making it the only name based on a value instead of a person or group of people.
The panel also recommended that Fort Hood in Texas, named for General John Bell Hood, be renamed Fort Cavazos in honor of General Richard E. Cavazos, a Korean War hero and four-star general in the U.S. military.
The commission recommended that Fort A.P. Hill in Virginia, named for a Confederate lieutenant general, be called Fort Walker for Mary Walker, an army surgeon.
Alabama’s Fort Rucker, named for Confederate General Edmund Rucker, would be renamed Novosel after Michael J. Novosel Sr., who served in World War II, the Korean War, and Vietnam.
The CNC suggests that Fort Pickett in Virginia, named after General George Pickett, be called Fort Barfoot to honor war hero Van T. Barfoot.
The panel suggested that Louisiana’s Fort Polk, which honored Confederate General Leonidas Polk, should be called Fort Johnson for William Henry Johnson, a war hero from World War I.
Virginia’s Fort Lee, named for Robert E. Lee, would be renamed Fort Gregg-Adams to honor Arthur Gregg and Charity Adams, two high-ranking officers from World War II.
The commission recommends that Fort Gordon in Georgia, named for John Gordon Brown, be renamed Fort Eisenhower after former President Dwight D. Eisenhower.
Finally, Fort Benning in Georgia, originally honoring Henry Benning, would be renamed Fort Moore, honoring Hal and Julia Moore, whose experience after the Battle of la Drang in the Vietnam War was famously made into the movie We Were Soldiers, starring Mel Gibson.
The CNC pointed out that since Fort Belvoir in Virginia was named after the Belvoir Plantation and not a Confederate general, it was not within the committee’s scope. But it recommended the Army conduct its own investigation into the name.
The CNC was set up through provisions in the 2021 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which President Trump vetoed. For the only time during his presidency, a majority of both houses of Congress voted to override that veto.
President Trump tweeted in June of 2020, “These Monumental and very Powerful Bases have become part of a Great American Heritage, and a history of Winning, Victory, and Freedom. The United States of America trained and deployed our HEROES on these Hallowed Grounds, and won two World Wars. Therefore, my Administration will not even consider the renaming of these Magnificent and Fabled Military Installations.”
After the CNC presents its report to Congress, the recommendations will be sent to the secretary of defense, who has the authority to rename bases.
The NDAA gives the secretary until January 1, 2024, to implement the name changes.
