Forts Bragg and Benning revert to old names with new honorees, sparking controversy
Fayetteville, North Carolina — For the second time in less than two years, the largest U.S. military base has a new name — but the new name is also its old name.
For more than a century, North Carolina's Fort Bragg honored Confederate Gen. Braxton Bragg. In 2023, it was changed to Fort Liberty by a congressionally mandated commission to rename nine bases that honored Confederate generals. After President Trump took office, the Pentagon changed the name back to Fort Bragg last month, but honoring a different Bragg than the original.
The base now honors Army Pfc. Ronald L. Bragg, who was awarded a Silver Star for actions during the Battle of the Bulge in World War II, according to a memo signed by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
Rebecca Amirpour and Jennifer Bell, Roland Bragg's granddaughters, are plenty proud of their grandpa. Though Amirpour initially thought the name change "was a joke," she feels like "using our grandfather's name is a way of bringing it back in a respectful way."
Lt. Gen. Gregory Anderson, commanding general of Fort Bragg, says his message to those who find the Bragg name and what it represents to be painful is that "Roland L. Bragg is someone they can be proud of."
But Fort Bragg wasn't the only name recently restored.
Steve Moore's family is on the other end of the Army's renaming decisions. Two years ago, Fort Benning in Georgia was renamed to honor his parents — Lt. Gen. Harold Moore, a highly decorated 32-year infantry commander, and his wife Julia — by the Naming Commission.
Moore says he was especially touched by the renaming because his mother was also honored, saying the Army was finally recognizing "the value of the military spouse."
Under Hegseth's leadership, Fort Moore is now reverting back to Fort Benning — not after the Confederate general it originally honored, but Cpl. Fred Benning — who served with honor for a couple of years during World War I
"When I compare his short service in World War I, to mom and dad's lifetime of service, and everything they did and influenced, I have to ask the question — why?" Steve Moore said, calling the reversal "an absolute loophole."
There's no answer that will satisfy the family of Hal and Julia Moore, whose lifetime of valor and service to the Army was lost out to a soldier who had one thing they did not: the right last name.
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