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New Names Finally Proposed for Nine Military Bases Named After Confederate Generals
Correcting a mistake that should never have been made
In the film St. Elmo’s Fire, Andrew McCarthy’s character says the following line: “There is the brink of insanity and then there is the abyss, into which you have obviously fallen.” It’s a great line, and one that should be applied to whoever first decided it was a good idea to name U.S. Army bases after Confederate Army generals. Just think about that for a second; we named bases housing soldiers of the United States Army after men who led a rebellion against the United States. It’s as crazy as the British naming forts after George Washington or Thomas Jefferson.
Last month, a congressional commission finally got around to proposing new names for nine of those bases. That it has taken, in some cases, over 100 years for this to happen (Fort Bragg was built in 1918) has been a continuing stain from the worst aspect of our nation’s history. Finally changing the names is a small step in the right direction, and the new names chosen are as well. Below are the nine bases, with their current name and the proposed change, with a little background on each.
Fort Bragg, North Carolina changed to Fort Liberty. Fort Bragg is one of the largest military bases in the world and is…
