Fort Moore

[cutiger83]

Fort Benning has been renamed Fort Moore after Lt General Hal Moore and his wife, Julia, both of whom are buried on the post along with Julia's parents. This is the first time the Army has named a base in honor of a married couple.  What an amazing couple to be honored in this way.   

 

Go Army! 

[triplecanopy]

To me and to many of us I suppose, that military post just south of Columbus, Georgia will always be called Fort Benning! Fort Benning is where we trained as young soldiers in Infantry tactics. It is where we went thru jump school and Ranger school and later to other advanced courses. We sweltered there in the hot summers and froze there in the winter. We sweated and strained to complete whatever obstacle course the Army placed in our path.  We did bayonet training and bayonet assault courses (I wonder if they still teach that?). I Recall the long runs, rucksack marches, FTX’s, PT Tests  and compass courses. Then there were the endless hours sitting in the bleachers at many different ranges named for Medal of Honor awardees.  That was all at Fort Benning. When asked where we were trained, the answer will always be: Fort Benning. To reach in our files and pull out a certificate of training or a graduation diploma, it will still and always read Fort Benning. In this time of rewriting history, where does it stop? What a waste of money and time. I have absolute total respect for LTG Hal Moore. He was a great leader, warrior and role model and I am positive that he would have objected to this stupid name change also.

Lets focus on getting this nation back on track instead of always seeking to destroy something because of make believe offense.

[RustyCanteen]

40 minutes ago, triplecanopy said:

To me and to many of us I suppose, that military post just south of Columbus, Georgia will always be called Fort Benning! Fort Benning is where we trained as young soldiers in Infantry tactics. It is where we went thru jump school and Ranger school and later to other advanced courses. We sweltered there in the hot summers and froze there in the winter. We sweated and strained to complete whatever obstacle course the Army placed in our path.  We did bayonet training and bayonet assault courses (I wonder if they still teach that?). I Recall the long runs, rucksack marches, FTX’s, PT Tests  and compass courses. Then there were the endless hours sitting in the bleachers at many different ranges named for Medal of Honor awardees.  That was all at Fort Benning. When asked where we were trained, the answer will always be: Fort Benning. To reach in our files and pull out a certificate of training or a graduation diploma, it will still and always read Fort Benning. In this time of rewriting history, where does it stop? What a waste of money and time. I have absolute total respect for LTG Hal Moore. He was a great leader, warrior and role modle and I am positive that he would have objected to this stupid name change also.

Lets focus on getting this nation back on track instead of always seeking to destroy something because of make believe offense.

One my ancestors died in the service of the Union, serving in the Army. I understand that 150 years later this means little in the way of quantitive feeling for those US Army soldiers who have passed through Ft. Benning of yesterday. However I see his grave, and the graves of so many who died to save this nation and I wonder why their memory and sacrifice is pushed to the side to 'honor' a man who wanted to see the nation destroyed. A traitor, a coward to the republic. Of course I understand that during WWI and WWII, there was a great need by the War Department to get the southern states involved in the war effort, so they ingratiated themselves as a matter of convenience. We are past the need for such convenience, and it's time we honor the real heroes like Hal Moore and his wife Julia; an Army family. People can relate to them, especially new recruits who have no attachment for the past simply because 'we always did it that way before'. 

No offense, but some change keeps the blood in the veins fresh. 

These are simply my opinions, but I hope it helps people understand why this does matter now. It should never have been Benning before, but it was, so now it is Moore. 

RC

[GIKyle]

TripleCanopy you are absolutely right that yours (and mine, and others') orders, certificates, etc will always say Ft. Benning, which is precisely why the argument that we are "rewriting history" is absolutely false.  If we were, everyone would be turning in said certificates, the Army would be combing the archives to eradicate any mention of Benning - as if it never existed.  That would be rewriting history.  Rather, we are changing who we commemorate with base names.  In 2023, we decided that we no longer wanted minority soldiers living on streets, working in buildings, or living in barracks named after men who, had they succeeded, would have kept them in human bondage.  I am not a minority but I would imagine such a situation would be bizarre at best and a slap in the face at worst.  We harp on here about the importance of celebrating/ honoring our military past because we see that as an important indicator of national values and respect.  In that vein, what does it say about us to honor Confederates with one of the highest naming honors we can bestow over the litany of more worthy individuals?  When it comes down to it, I'd much rather admire Hal Moore than Henry Benning.  

[patches]

I took Basic and AIT at Fort Benning, with my first Duty Station at Fort Hood  

[31b20]

Was there in 1965 at the infantry school, didn't know of the history of the namesake

[The Rooster]

All of these forts are located in what was the confederacy during the civil war.

Most of them were opened for WW1 in 1917 and 1918. I've never read anything about why these forts were named after the people that were chosen

back in the day. It could be that well, lets take Fort Gordon Georgia for instance or Fort Jackson SC.

Could be that when the Army opened those forts, they named them after confederates because the population

in the South in 1918, may not have taken to having a Fort named after William Tecumseh Sherman placed in Georgia?

Or a Fort Grant in SC. ? The government most likely named these forts for that reason. To make them palatable to the people in the south.

So as not to rub salt in the wounds of a defeated populace. ?

1917 1918 was not even 60 years since the civil war had ended. Sentiment about the war ran deep at that time.

 Im thinking this is why those forts in the south were named the way they were?

Cant prove it but WW1 was on and they needed things to run smooth as possible.

 

I went to basic at Fort Jackson in 82. We never were instructed on who the fort was named after and I honestly never gave it any thought at the time. Same for Fort Gordon.

They were just places you were sent to, to train.

The name of the place just Identified it.

Like Fort Benning. Its not famous for its name.

Who ever Benning was nobody thinks about...

Well mostly nobody, because its not important.

Benning, Its name is famous for training Infantry Soldiers.

To me priorities ought to be about war fighting and while at peace training for war. Not who a Fort is named after.

Priorities..... So change the names and get back to business.

[The Rooster]

It makes me wonder what Hal Moore and his wife would say

about renaming the bases and all the other things unexplainable going on in this

country currently?

I wont venture to say, but I can guess.

[KS95B40]

Gen Moore was the post commander at Fort Ord when I was there for BCT in 1973. 

[triplecanopy]

This says it all!

[ScottG]

On 5/15/2023 at 10:37 PM, RustyCanteen said:

One my ancestors died in the service of the Union, serving in the Army. I understand that 150 years later this means little in the way of quantitive feeling for those US Army soldiers who have passed through Ft. Benning of yesterday. However I see his grave, and the graves of so many who died to save this nation and I wonder why their memory and sacrifice is pushed to the side to 'honor' a man who wanted to see the nation destroyed. A traitor, a coward to the republic. Of course I understand that during WWI and WWII, there was a great need by the War Department to get the southern states involved in the war effort, so they ingratiated themselves as a matter of convenience. We are past the need for such convenience, and it's time we honor the real heroes like Hal Moore and his wife Julia; an Army family. People can relate to them, especially new recruits who have no attachment for the past simply because 'we always did it that way before'. 

No offense, but some change keeps the blood in the veins fresh. 

These are simply my opinions, but I hope it helps people understand why this does matter now. It should never have been Benning before, but it was, so now it is Moore. 

RC

      

            i have tried to understand the ancestor argument for some time but it doesn't really work for me. I have direct Grandfathers on my Mothers side that served for the Union and the Confederacy. Which one was the bad guy? Was my Southern ancestor a traitor? Not by any conviction of a court and last I knew, one was innocent until proven guilty in this country.

             My Union ancestor was loyal to his state (Kentucky)) My Confederate ancestor was also loyal to his state (Kentucky). Neither owned slaves, both would certainly be considered racists by todays standards. My Union ancestor served in a segregated Army, my Confederate ancestor did not. History shows that Abraham Lincoln knew what would happen if he chose to reinforce and rearm Fort Sumter, yet he chose to do so and it was fired upon. At that point the massed armies of the Confederacy then invaded the north and waged a war of destruction. Oh wait, what was I thinking, that didn't happen at all, it was the Union Army that invaded Virginia that then plunged us in to 4 years of war. When soundly defeated the South did not sack D.C. though it was wide open, instead Davis asked to be left alone. After Wilsons Creek he again asked to be left alone, but good old Honest Abe loved his country so much he was willing to see millions killed to force it to stay together. 

             I am Northern born and raised, I served at Benning, Polk, Bragg, and Hood and it never bothered me. I always thought it neat that the Army honored our combined history. Had I ever met my two Great Grandfathers I am sure I would have had a favorite, but since I didn't I cannot say which one it would be. Only that they were able to coexist in the same town, county and state with one another and either respect what the other did or agree to disagree in a manner which allowed for a marriage that would eventually lead to my existence. Now it seems we cannot do this and none of us fought that war. 

             My personal opinion would have been to leave the names as they were, it helped bring about a reconciliation at a time when it was needed. As time progressed, the names meant little but each post was famous for the units that trained there. Is it an honor for Moore to get a hand me down? Perhaps, but not in my opinion. Now we have Fort Gregg-Adams, a post named for a guy who made a particular rank first as a black soldier and a woman who basically did what was in her job description. The only good thing to come from something like this is that there is hope that someday one of these places will be named for me as I did my job too....    Scott

[manayunkman]

History moves on.

[patches]

On 2/27/2024 at 5:28 PM, 31b20 said:

Was there in 1965 at the infantry school, didn't know of the history of the namesake

Yeah prior to me going in, and when I got there and during the course of the training I never knew who Benning was named after, Hood yes, knew of him, cause he's a more famous Officer in the war, like I read or seen his name in a few books I had as a kid on the war, Benning? No. I only found out about him and that he was CSA when we got our Graduation Yearbooks for our cycle, here Benning is mentioned in the beginning of the book.

[The Rooster]

14 hours ago, patches said:

Yeah prior to me going in, and when I got there and during the course of the training I never knew who Benning was named after, Hood yes, knew of him, cause he's a more famous Officer in the war, like I read or seen his name in a few books I had as a kid on the war, Benning? No. I only found out about him and that he was CSA when we got our Graduation Yearbooks for our cycle, here Benning is mentioned in the beginning of the book.

I was in for initial training Jan 82. Close to when you went through Patches.....And the names of forts were not an issue.

I never thought about who the forts were named after. It did not matter then in the least......

You were sent to various forts for training and that was it. When I graduated signal school in 82

at Fort Gordon, there was no mention of who Gordon was???

In fact to this day 42 years latter, I still have no idea who Mr Gordon was.

I never cared to know. Ive never looked it up. We were taught nothing about Mr Godon while at Fort Gordon.

None of that mattered. Not sure why it does now?

I was infantry for 15 years in the guard before that I was signal corps

trained. I got my 11B awarded through on the job training.

Not sure if they do that anymore?

Never went to Benning.

It was a non issue until someone somewhere got their undies in a bunch.

Much to do over not much...

 

 

[The Rooster]

As a footnote... I knew who Fort Jackson was named after, before I arrived there.... much like Patches said he knew about Hood.

But my ancestors were in the Union Army and I personally didnt take much stock in a General

who got shot by his own troops. The name of the Fort didn't matter to me personally.

What mattered was learning and getting through it.

And Im guessing most everyone who went through it or who goes through it now feels the same way.

I think the rub is this... Someone is messing with over one hundred years of Army tradition

because of misguided political "Correctness". There goes 100 years of traditions....

I'l wager a civilian or group of civilians came up with this.....

One thing is for sure... all of the politics, does nothing to enhance the USA's war fighting capabilities.

In communist countries, they waste valuable training time on political indoctrination.

"If everyone is thinking alike, then someone isn't thinking."  as stated by General George Patton

Oh well.

 

[patches]

For a long time in 70s and 80s I thought Ft Jackson was named for Stonewall LOL.

[The Rooster]

37 minutes ago, patches said:

For a long time in 70s and 80s I thought Ft Jackson was named for Stonewall LOL.

Its not ???

I thought it was?....

Andrew Jackson....

See that! I went there and had no clue....

Thats how much training or information we got on the forts names!!!

Zero. All these years I just assumed it was stonewall!

Whadya know!

And Gordon I just finally looked up was a CSA General and a Governor of Georgia.

 

 

"John Brown Gordon (February 6, 1832 – January 9, 1904) was an attorney, a slaveholding planter, general in the Confederate States Army, and a politician in the postwar years. By the end of the Civil War, he had become "one of Robert E. Lee's most trusted generals."[1]: 241 

After the war, Gordon strongly opposed Reconstruction during the late 1860s and into the 1870s. A member of the Democratic Party, he was twice elected by the Georgia state legislature as a US Senator (as was the practice at the time), serving from 1873 to 1880, and again from 1891 to 1897. He also was elected as the 53rd Governor of Georgia, serving two terms, from 1886 to 1890."

 

I had assumed these people were not allowed to hold public office after the war?

 

 

 

[The Rooster]

Fort Jackson is named after Andrew Jackson and they are not changing the name of

that fort...................

Andrew Jackson was a slave owner. I wonder why it gets a pass?

Are the name changes about the civil war and not about slavery?

Because the civil war was all about the Southern Plantation owners wanting to keep their slaves....

And Andrew Jackson was one of them.

Is changing the names of the forts about slavery, the sins of the past? Or is about some current political bent?

Somewhat confusing.

More than enough said on my part.

 

[The Rooster]

One more thing.....

Not only did they not bar John Brown Gordon from public office

under the insurrection act.... but look at this..........

Its not just the forts................

This guy got more play than Audie Murphy!!!

Not at all sure why?

 

Fort Gordon, a U.S. Army installation, and the adjacent Gordon Highway in Augusta, Georgia, were named for Gordon. The fort was renamed Fort Eisenhower as of October 27, 2023, as part of an effort to end naming of US forts after Confederate officials.

The John Brown Gordon statue on the grounds of the Georgia State Capitol in Atlanta is the only public equestrian statue in the city.

U.S. Highway 19 in Gordon's native Upson County, Georgia, is named in his honor.

John B. Gordon Road in Gordon's 2nd home Taylor County, Georgia, is named in his honor.

A statue dedicated to Gordon stands on the lawn of the Thomaston, Georgia, courthouse.

Gordon State College (Georgia) in Barnesville, Georgia, is named for him.

John B. Gordon Hall Archived June 4, 2016, at the Wayback Machine in LaFayette, Georgia is named for Gordon.[20]

John B. Gordon Elementary School in Atlanta was named for Gordon.[21]

John B. Gordon High School in Decatur, Georgia was also named after him. It operated from 1958 until 1987; Gordon was changed to a middle school and renamed as McNair Middle School.

[ScottG]

27 minutes ago, The Rooster said:

One more thing.....

Not only did they not bar John Brown Gordon from public office

under the insurrection act.... but look at this..........

Its not just the forts................

This guy got more play than Audie Murphy!!!

Not at all sure why?

 

Fort Gordon, a U.S. Army installation, and the adjacent Gordon Highway in Augusta, Georgia, were named for Gordon. The fort was renamed Fort Eisenhower as of October 27, 2023, as part of an effort to end naming of US forts after Confederate officials.

The John Brown Gordon statue on the grounds of the Georgia State Capitol in Atlanta is the only public equestrian statue in the city.

U.S. Highway 19 in Gordon's native Upson County, Georgia, is named in his honor.

John B. Gordon Road in Gordon's 2nd home Taylor County, Georgia, is named in his honor.

A statue dedicated to Gordon stands on the lawn of the Thomaston, Georgia, courthouse.

Gordon State College (Georgia) in Barnesville, Georgia, is named for him.

John B. Gordon Hall Archived June 4, 2016, at the Wayback Machine in LaFayette, Georgia is named for Gordon.[20]

John B. Gordon Elementary School in Atlanta was named for Gordon.[21]

John B. Gordon High School in Decatur, Georgia was also named after him. It operated from 1958 until 1987; Gordon was changed to a middle school and renamed as McNair Middle School.

    

        The why is simple, when WWI came around, the South had gone through its most difficult time with reconstruction still being fresh in most Southern homes. The military, and particularly the Army needed land in areas of decent weather for year round training facilities. The government also needed to bring young southerners back into the fold and some reconciliation was needed. As land was identified in the various states, the local members of Congress and the Senate were able to put forth names and in general, those names were for military men from their districts or states and many but not all were former Confederates. Now the reasons for that reconciliation is seen as water under the bridge and the former Confederates who the bases were named for have to be erased to reconcile a wrong committed by the federal government 80 plus years before the existence of the Confederacy and kept as law by some states such as New Jersey until after the Confederacy was gone... You can't make this stuff up!     Scott

[ScottG]

   As for public office, Joe Wheeler was a senator and also in command of US Cavalry in the Spanish American War, he is buried at Arlington. Simon B Buckner was Governor of Kentucky. General Longstreet held several public offices as did General Joe Shelby. Forrest was a delegate at many Democratic conventions. Beauregard was Adjutant General of Louisiana and Wade Hampton was Governor of South Carolina. There are many many more...    Scott