1 of 2 | Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth signs a memorandum to rename Fort Liberty, N.C., to Fort Roland L. Bragg, while aboard a military aircraft en route to Germany on Monday. Army Pfc. Roland Bragg was awarded the Silver Star for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity while serving with the 17th Airborne Division during World War II. Photo courtesy of Department of Defense/Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Alexander Kubitza
Feb. 10 (UPI) — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Monday signed an order to rename Fort Liberty in North Carolina back to its original Fort Bragg. But this time Bragg will honor a World War II hero instead of a Confederate general.
The newly renamed Fort Bragg pays tribute to Pfc. Roland L. Bragg, a World War II soldier who earned the Silver Star and Purple Heart for his “exceptional courage” during the Battle of the Bulge.
“I direct the Army to change the name of Fort Liberty, North Carolina to Fort Bragg, North Carolina,” Hegseth announced Monday aboard a C-17 traveling from Joint Base Andrews to Stuttgart, Germany.
In June 2023, the U.S. Army abandoned the Fort Bragg label as part of its push to rebrand facilities named after Confederate Civil War figures. The artillery training site was originally known as Camp Bragg in 1918 and was named after Confederate Gen. Braxton Bragg.
The Defense Department said Monday restoring the name “underscores the installation’s legacy of recognizing those who have demonstrated extraordinary service and sacrifice for the nation,” according to Pentagon spokesman John Ullyot.
Fort Bragg was not the only installation to undergo a name change two years ago. Fort Hood, which was named after a Confederate general, is now known as Fort Cavazos after the U.S. Army’s first Hispanic four-star general.
In all, nine bases were ordered rebranded for former Black soldiers, U.S. presidents and pioneering women.
“Always,” Hegseth wrote Monday in a post on X, with a photo of the Fort Bragg sign.