The Biden administration changed the name from Fort Bragg to Fort Liberty saying the post had been named after Confederate Gen. Braxton Bragg.
But last month Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth signed an order reinstating the Bragg name, only this time it will honor Army Pfc. Roland L. Bragg, a World War II paratrooper and Silver Star recipient from Maine. A few hundred people — made up of active servicemen and members of the public — gathered under black and yellow tents in front of the base's command center headquarters to watch the renaming ceremony.
“Today we honor a hero worthy of the name Bragg,” Lt. Gen. Greg Anderson said during the ceremony. “It is synonymous with excellence.”
Bragg, who served with the 17th Airborne Division, received the Silver Star and a Purple Heart for exceptional courage during the Battle of the Bulge. He was captured by Germans and commandeered an ambulance back to safety with a few wounded paratroopers, one of which survived, Anderson said.
Fort Bragg's name being restored was like a “phoenix rising from the ashes,” said retired Mjr. Al Woodall, who served at Fort Bragg at several points during his service. Woodall, who is black, said he wasn't bothered by the installation's initial name origin. Instead, he felt connected to the name because it had been that way for more than 100 years.
Carl Helton, who served at Fort Bragg from 1962 to 1964, said he was “ecstatic” about the name change. The 80-year-old, who traveled about an hour to attend the ceremony, refused to call the installation Fort Liberty after it was initially renamed, he said.
“It should have never been changed to start with. It was all political anyway,” Helton said.
And the name changing continues.
Hegseth announced this week that Georgia's Fort Moore would revert back to Fort Benning. Originally named for Confederate Brig. Gen. Henry L. Benning, it will now honor Cpl. Fred G. Benning, a recipient of the Distinguished Service Cross who served in France during World War I.
