Fort Benning no longer exists since the U.S. Army training facility in Georgia severed its ties to the confederacy and changed its name to recognize a military couple with a lasting impression.
According to CNN, the massive base near Columbus, Georgia – established in 1918 – is now Fort Moore following Thursday’s renaming in honor of the late Lt. Gen. Harold “Hal” Moore and his wife, Julia.
The Moores “were courageous leaders and visionaries whose lives exemplify duty, honor, [and] country,” Maj. Gen. Curtis Buzzard said Thursday, “and each time we pass through the gates, their legacy will inspire us.”
Moore was in the Army between 1945 and 1977, serving in Vietnam, Korea, Japan and Norway. He oversaw the 1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry Regiment during the Battle of Ia Drang Valley in 1965, regarded as the first significant conflict of the Vietnam War. The 2002 movie “We Were Soldiers” depicted his efforts.
In a statement earlier this year announcing the renaming, the Army said Julia Moore was “equally distinguished,” noting that as a leader of the military branch’s family programs, she revolutionized how the military looks after fallen soldiers’ widows.
At Thursday’s ceremony, troops unveiled a sign at the base’s entrance after replacing the Fort Benning colors with a new official flag as the couple’s relatives looked on.
“They loved the Army and their beloved troopers,” the couple’s son, retired Col. David Moore, said, CNN reported. He said that his father, in fact, had asked “to be buried among his troopers” at the military base’s cemetery. “The same troopers my mother referred to as their sons and brothers and with whom she is buried as well.”
Fort Moore is one of nine U.S. Army locations receiving a new name following recommendations from a congressional commission established to remove confederate names from military bases.
The post’s original name referenced Henry Benning, a confederate officer who vigorously defended slavery and was a crucial figure in the South’s secession effort.
Retired Col. Ramon “Tony” Nadal said during the ceremony that the leadership exhibited by Hal Moore, with whom he served, improved the Army as a whole. Nadal added that the designation in honor of the Moores “will serve as a beacon to the many young men and women who will follow them in honor, integrity, and allegiance in service to their country,” CNN reported.
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