Azalea and Overlord: Fort Gordon, soon Eisenhower, locations get new names

Abraham Kenmore, Augusta Chronicle
·2 min read
FILE - Construction around the Fort Gordon Gate One sign outside the base on Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2023. The area will get a Fort Eisenhower sign in the coming weeks.
FILE - Construction around the Fort Gordon Gate One sign outside the base on Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2023. The area will get a Fort Eisenhower sign in the coming weeks.
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Fort Gordon will soon, officially, become Fort Eisenhower after a multi-year Congressional process to strip military installations of the names of former Confederates. But the change over will be more complicated than simply putting up new installation signs outside the gates.

The official renaming was announced a year ago, when Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III issued a memo accepting the recommendations of a congressionally authorized commission to rename U.S. Military assets honoring Confederate soldiers. The ceremony itself will be held on Oct. 27.

The changeover will involve nearly 100 new signs between Fort Gordon and the Gillem Enclave in Atlanta, which is under the control of Fort Gordon, according to Anne H. Bowman, deputy public affairs officer at the fort. Other items, such as rugs, clothing, vehicle decals and more are being tracked and replaced by the operations team she wrote in an email.

But perhaps the most noticeable changes will be the locations on post:

  • Now: Gordon Catering and Conference Center. Changed to: Eisenhower Catering and Conference Center.

  • Now: Gordon Lanes Bowling Center. Changed to: Five Star Lanes.

  • Now: Gordon Car Care Center. Changed to: Surrey Car Care Center.

  • Now: Fort Gordon Dinner Theatre. Changed to: Presidential Dinner Theatre.

  • Now: Gordon Lakes Golf Club. Changed to: Eisenhower Lakes Golf Club.

  • Now: Gordon Lake. Changed to: Eisenhower Lake.

  • Now: Fort Gordon Disc Golf. Changed to: Five Star Disc Golf.

  • Now: Gordon Fitness Center. Changed to: Overlord Fitness Center.

  • Now: Cyber Fitness Center. Changed to: Torch Fitness Center.

  • Now: Gordon Terrace. Changed to: Azalea Terrace.

Most of the locations being renamed are under the Directorate of Family & Morale, Welfare and Recreation, according to Bowman. The DFMWR conducted a Facebook survey in March to get recommendations, and final names were up to the commanding general.

The new fitness center names, Overlord and Torch, are references to major operations Eisenhower supervised in World War II − the invasion of Normandy and North Africa, respectively − according to Bowman. Eisenhower was also named a five-star general, one of nine in American history, hence the Five Star names. Azalea Terrace is a recognition of Eisenhower's fondness for golfing at the Augusta National, with its iconic Azaleas.

Fort Gillem Enclave also saw one road, Hood Avenue, renamed earlier this year to McPherson Avenue. While Fort Gordon could not confirm the source of the name, Fort McPherson was a long time Atlanta area military installation closed in 2011.

Outside the fort, Augusta began an inventory of signs listing earlier this summer. In an update to the Augusta Commission, John Ussery, the assistant director for the Traffic Engineering division, said the signs would be changed over by the renaming. New signs cost about $135, he said.

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This article originally appeared on Augusta Chronicle: Fort Gordon changes to Eisenhower, and on-post locations follow