Latest news with #Confederate-linked
NBC News
07-08-2025
- Politics
- NBC News
Restoration of torn-down Confederate monument will cost $10 million over 2 years, military says
Restoring a memorial to the Confederacy that was removed from Arlington National Cemetery at the recommendation of Congress will cost roughly $10 million total, a U.S. Army official said Wednesday — the latest development in a Trump administration effort to combat what it calls "erasing American history." Once back in the cemetery, the monument — described a few years ago as "problematic from top to bottom" — will also feature panels nearby that will offer context about its history, said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity about a project still in progress. The Pentagon expects it to take about two years to restore the monument to its original site, the official told The Associated Press. The base that it sat on needs to be replaced and the monument itself will be refurbished as well. On Tuesday, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced the Pentagon would reinstall the memorial at Arlington — an expanse just outside Washington that once contained the land of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee — less than two years after it was removed on the recommendation of an independent commission. On social media Tuesday, Hegseth said the Arlington statue "never should have been taken down by woke lemmings. Unlike the Left, we don't believe in erasing American history — we honor it." It was erected more than a century ago The Confederate monument, erected in 1914, was the creation of sculptor and Confederate veteran Moses Ezekiel. It features a classical female figure, crowned with olive leaves, representing the American South, alongside sanitized depictions of slavery. In 2022, a congressionally mandated commission recommended that the memorial, along with scores of other military assets that bore Confederate references, be either removed or renamed. Retired Army Brig. Gen. Ty Seidule, the vice chair of the commission, said that the group found that Ezekiel's memorial was "problematic from top to bottom." Arlington National Cemetery's page on the memorial noted that aside from the sanitized depictions of enslaved people, the statue featured a Latin phrase that equated the South's secession to a noble "lost cause." That's a false interpretation of the Civil War that glorifies the conflict as a struggle over the power of the federal government and not the institution of slavery. Hegseth has made a point of circumventing the will of the commission several times now by reverting the names of several Army bases back to their original, Confederate-linked names, though by honoring different figures. For example, following the recommendations of the commission, officials renamed Fort Bragg, a name that honored Confederate Gen. Braxton Bragg, a slave owner who lost several key Civil War battles, to Fort Liberty. In February, Hegseth reverted the name back to Fort Bragg but honoring Army Pfc. Roland L. Bragg, a World War II soldier who earned a Silver Star and Purple Heart for exceptional courage during the Battle of the Bulge. The effort is part of a larger Trump initiative In March, President Donald Trump issued an executive order entitled "Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History." It decried efforts to reinterpret American history, stating, "rather than fostering unity and a deeper understanding of our shared past, the widespread effort to rewrite history deepens societal divides and fosters a sense of national shame." The order targeted the Smithsonian network of museums as having "come under the influence of a divisive, race-centered ideology." It also instructed the Interior Department to restore any statue or display that was "removed or changed to perpetuate a false reconstruction of American history, inappropriately minimize the value of certain historical events or figures, or include any other improper partisan ideology." This has been an active week when it comes to the dispute over how American history and culture are portrayed. On Monday, the National Park Service announced that the statue of Albert Pike, a Confederate brigadier general and a revered figure among Freemasons, would resume its previous position in Washington's Judiciary Square, a few blocks from the U.S. Capitol. It was the only outdoor statue of a Confederate military leader in the nation's capital. And late last week, the Smithsonian Museum of American History announced that it would revert an exhibit on the presidency to the 2008 era, eliminating any mention of the two Trump impeachments. After that move sparked discussion about how history is portrayed by government-backed institutions, the Smithsonian said it had come under no pressure from the White House and had been planning all along to update that part of the exhibit, which it said was temporary, to 2025 specifications.
Yahoo
24-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Hegseth says Army base renamings will move ahead, despite concerns
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said military officials are looking for ways to honor the individuals whose names are being removed from Army bases as they return to their old designations, but rejected the idea of slowing or stopping the renaming process. 'The orders will soon be going to those bases to change back to the original names that never should have been changed,' he told members of the Senate Armed Services Committee on Wednesday. 'Veterans and servicemembers across the country who have deployed from Fort Bragg or Fort Benning or Fort Hood or Fort Pickett, there's a legacy. There's a connection to those bases and to those places, to what they trained for there and what they did when they came home. That matters to them.' Last week, President Donald Trump announced plans to revert the designations of seven Army installations previously named for Confederate soldiers. He previously ordered the renaming of North Carolina's Fort Liberty to its old name, Fort Bragg, in February. Despite the presidential announcement last week, several of the changed base names were mentioned during the Army's 250th anniversary parade in Washington, D.C. last weekend, because renaming ceremonies have not yet taken place. Trump orders return to old, Confederate-linked names for 7 Army sites Service officials have emphasized that the reverted names will no longer commemorate their original Confederate namesakes, but instead other Army alumni with similar names. For example, Fort Hood in Texas, originally named for Confederate Gen. John Bell Hood, will now instead honor Distinguished Service Cross recipient Col. Robert B. Hood, who served during World War I. The moves undo decisions by Congress and President Joe Biden's administration to remove any connection to the Confederacy from current military bases. Lawmakers approved base name changes as part of the annual defense authorization bill process, noting the divisive nature of the association with the Confederacy. But Trump — and Hegseth on Wednesday — have argued that the names are sacred to troops and their families, and returning to the better-known names will boost military morale. Democrats on the panel rejected that argument. 'I don't understand what the motivation is to rename bases for people who took arms against their country on behalf of slavery,' said Sen. Angus King, I-Maine. 'What possible motivation can there be for this?' Several lawmakers suggested the move was an insult to the individuals for whom the bases were renamed, a group that includes Medal of Honor recipients and military trail blazers. Hegseth insisted the decision is not a reflection of their contributions and service. 'We'll find ways to recognize them,' he said, without providing further specifics. Army officials are expected to hold formal renaming ceremonies for the affected bases later this year.
New York Post
14-06-2025
- Politics
- New York Post
After Trump restores fort names, it's time to end the silly renaming wars
After President Donald Trump restores the names of military bases that once honored Confederates, the left and the right need to call a name-change truce. During Tuesday's speech at Fort Bragg (formerly Liberty, and before that, Bragg again), Trump announced that his administration would be reviving the names of Fort Pickett, Fort Hood, Fort Gordon, Fort Rucker, Fort Polk, Fort A.P. Hill and Fort Lee. Those forts were renamed during the left's crazed push, in the aftermath of the George Floyd protests in 2020, to purge public-property references to any figure it deemed controversial. Advertisement Much of the frenzy was a ridiculous exercise in woke revisionism: The hysteria got so bad that not even Teddy Roosevelt, a once-hero of progressivism, was safe. Trump has made his disdain for the whole gambit clear: One of his first acts as president was giving Mount McKinley its name back. But both the left and the right made the argument for nixing the names of traitorous Confederates from public property, especially in cases where the names were picked during the 1950s and '60s, purely out of hostility toward the Civil Rights movement. Advertisement So both sides should be happy to learn that the restored fort names technically won't honor Confederates. During Trump's first term, Congress passed the bipartisan National Defense Authorization Act, which required the Pentagon's newly established Naming Commission to remove Confederate-linked names from Defense Department-owned property. So in order to give the forts their names back, the DOD is nodding to service members with identical surnames. That silly trick doesn't might go a bit too far: For instance, Fort Bragg is now named after a relatively unknown World War II private, Roland Bragg, instead of Confederate Gen. Braxton Bragg. Advertisement Keep up with today's most important news Stay up on the very latest with Evening Update. Thanks for signing up! Enter your email address Please provide a valid email address. By clicking above you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Never miss a story. Check out more newsletters But many of the new honorees do merit the recognition: Fort Rucker will now be named after heroic World War I Capt. Edward W. Rucker, instead of Confederate brigade commander Col. Edmund Rucker; Fort Robert E. Lee will now be simply 'Fort Lee,' paying tribute to Army Private Fitz Lee, a black Medal of Honor recipient who served in the Spanish-American War. This seems a fair compromise: The bases no longer reference men who fought against the Union, but locals will be able to call the forts by their long-held names. And Trump's move makes a point — the ever-escalating, Orwellian push to scrub flawed men from the history books needs to stop. Advertisement Tens of millions of taxpayer dollars were shelled out to change the fort names once, and a similar amount will presumably be spent changing them back. 'Round and 'round we go. In fact, every time any publicly owned building, street or base goes through this process, it's a costly, divisive mess. Without a cease-fire, it'll never stop; any man or woman deemed worthy of honoring today could be vilified tomorrow, as the standards and values of the time change. Enough is enough: By finding a solution that should satisfy both sides, Trump is offering an opportunity to end the expensive, renaming war the left started. An opportunity neither side should miss.
Yahoo
12-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Trump Promises To Bring Back Fort Hood Name
(Texas Scorecard) – Speaking at a recent event at Fort Bragg, President Donald Trump announced his intention to reverse the renaming of several U.S. military installations, including Texas' Fort Cavazos, restoring their original names. 'For a little breaking news,' Trump said, 'we are also going to be restoring the names to Fort Pickett, Fort Hood, Fort Gordon, Fort Brucker, Fort Polk, Fort A.P. Hill, and Fort Robert E. Lee. We won a lot of battles out of those forts. It's no time to change.' 'I'm superstitious, you know? I'd like to keep it going,' he added. Fort Hood—renamed Fort Cavazos in 2023—had been one of nine U.S. Army posts renamed after a federal commission recommended removing Confederate-linked names. The installation was renamed in honor of Gen. Richard Edward Cavazos, a decorated Korean and Vietnam War veteran and the first Hispanic four-star general in U.S. Army history. Trump had previously opposed the renaming effort during his first term, vetoing the legislation that created the Naming Commission in 2020. Congress overrode his veto, however, and the commission's recommendations were later implemented under President Joe Biden. Fort Hood, established in 1942 and named after Confederate Gen. John Bell Hood, remains one of the largest military installations in the world. It has grown to occupy 340 square miles and is home to around 34,500 military personnel and their families, 5,000 contractors, and 4,000 civilian employees. Trump's speech notably took place at Fort Bragg, which had its own name restored earlier this year following his return to office. Bragg had originally been named for Confederate General Braxton Bragg, and then renamed Fort Liberty by the Biden administration. Earlier this year, the Bragg named was restored but this time for PFC Roland L. Bragg, a World War II paratrooper and a hero of the Battle of the Bulge.
