Short list released of new names for Fort Gordon, other installations named for Confederates
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A commission authorized by Congress to remove the name of Confederates from military installations has announced a short list of new names for the installations, which include two Georgia Army bases, Fort Gordon and Fort Benning.
The list includes medal of honor recipients such as Alwyn C. Cashe and military icons like Alvin C. York and Audie Murphy. There are also several Black civil war soldiers such as surgeon Alexander Augusta, who later ran the Lincoln Hospital in Savannah, actor and war hero Powhatan Beaty and the famous underground railroad conductor, abolitionist, and Civil War scout and spy Harriet Tubman, alongside a number of other service members throughout US history.
Read more: Short list of proposed names for US Military installations honoring Confederates
The Naming Commission was created by the 2021 National Defense Authorization Act to rename any military assets that commemorate the Confederacy or those who served in the Confederacy. They identified nine military installations to be renamed, including Fort Hood in Texas, Fort Bragg in North Carolina, Fort Rucker in Alabama, Fort Polk in Louisiana and Forts A.P. Hill, Lee and Pickett in Virginia along with the Georgia bases.
Also: Confederate renaming commission for military assets to visit Georgia this summer
Last summer the commission visited all of the installations and met with commanders and community leaders. They also solicited name recommendations from the public. The commission ended up with 34,000 submissions including 3,670 unique names, according to a press release.
And: Commission tasked with replacing Confederate names, like Fort Gordon, seeks suggestions
None of the names in the list are currently attached to specific installations. A spokesperson for the commission said that the commission plans to meet again with the same people they met with last summer to get their feedback on the short list, a process that should be finished by the end of April. After that the commission will deliberate on final recommendations.
This article originally appeared on Augusta Chronicle: Fort Gordon renaming: Commission releases list of proposed names
