Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has reversed the previous renaming of Fort Liberty, issuing a memo aboard a military aircraft en route to Germany. The North Carolina base will now be known as Fort Roland L. Bragg, a tribute to a World War II hero, not the Confederate general who was the original namesake.
The 2023 renaming to Fort Liberty was part of a Department of Defense effort to remove Confederate figures from military installations following the George Floyd protests. The original Fort Bragg was named after Confederate General Braxton Bragg, a controversial figure known for his slave ownership and military defeats.
The new designation honors Private First Class Roland L. Bragg, recipient of the Silver Star and Purple Heart for his bravery during the Battle of the Bulge. Hegseth's memo highlights Bragg's courageous act of commandeering an enemy ambulance to transport a wounded comrade 20 miles to a hospital in Belgium.
Fort Bragg, one of the world's largest military installations and home to the 82nd Airborne Division, reclaims its historical name with a renewed focus on courage and service. The memo emphasizes this alignment with the base's rich history.
Other bases renamed in 2023 include Fort Moore (formerly Fort Benning) and Fort Cavazos (formerly Fort Hood), honoring distinguished military leaders Lt. Gen. Hal Moore and Gen. Richard Edward Cavazos, respectively.
At the time of the initial renaming, the chosen name, Fort Liberty, was intended to symbolize the core American value of liberty.
