(1/12 Watching Ken Burns’ epic Civil War and thinking on bases named after Confederate generals.

Every one comes at an opportunity cost of someone who fought for the United States and we are choosing Confederate generals over them.

Here’s a suggestion for each base instead...

(2/12) Instead of Fort AP Hill, named after III Corps CSA commander, go with Fort Garcia, after SSG Marcario Garcia, a Mexican immigrant from 4th ID (in III Corps) awarded the Medal of Honor in WWII

(3/12) Instead of Camp Beauregard, we go with another son of Louisiana- Jean J. Beaufort. A corporal who led a raid against a Confederate signal station for which he was awarded the Medal of Honor.

(4/12) Fort Benning is the home of the infantry

SGT Henry Johnson grew fame as a Harlem Hellfighter in WWI for hand to hand fighting, rescuing a fellow soldier, and sustaining 21 injuries in a single battle. That’s the spirit of the infantry.

(5/12) Fort Bragg is the home of the airborne and special operations.

Fort Gavin would be named after “Jumpin” Jim Gavin
-Only general to make 4 combat jumps in WWII
- Accelerated use of airborne forces
- Noted for his efforts against segregation

(6/12) Fort Gordon, GA could be reamed Fort McKinney for PVT John McKinney, who single-handedly secured a crucial area against the Japanese and for which he was awarded the Medal of Honor

He is a native Georgian.

(7/12) Fort Hood is home of the 1st Cavalry division

Joseph Marm led a platoon in the Ia Drang valley as part of the new airmobile division in Vietnam.

He directly and repeatedly charged enemy positions to save his badly bruised platoon

(8/12) Fort Lee could be changed to Fort Williams, named after Cathay Williams.

She was the first black woman to enlist in the US Army and only known female Buffalo Soldier.

(9/12) Fort Pickett is named after a general known for a foolhardy charge in Gettysburg.

Fort Chamberlain would be named for a college professor who ordered the 20th Maine to fix bayonets and saved the Union flank at Gettysburg

Lawrence Chamberlain

(10/12) Fort Rucker is where all new pilots get trained

Edward Rickenbacker was the most victorious and decorated WWI ace and known for his later work in pioneering the aviation industry

Fort Polk is named after a man known for his general lack of success in combat.

Fort Rubin would be named for Tibor Rubin, a Hungarian Jew who survived the Holocaust, immigrated to the US, was awarded the MoH in Korea, and survived Vietnamese captivity.

(12/12) This is by no means a definitive list of options. But some quick searches provided me spectrum of Americans that did great things for our Nation and provide a more picture of the diversity of our country.

#HappyFourthOfJuly #ConfederateMonuments #military #blm