WASHINGTON – The U.S. Army will take all necessary actions to change the names of seven Army installations in honor of heroic Soldiers who served in conflicts ranging from the Civil War to the Battle of Mogadishu. Five of them received the Medal of Honor, three received the Distinguished Service Cross and one received the Silver Star.
Fort Pickett (formerly Fort Barfoot) will be named in honor of Distinguished Service Cross recipient 1st Lt. Vernon W. Pickett for his extraordinary heroism during World War II. While pinned down by enemy machine gun fire, Pickett crawled forward and destroyed two enemy positions with grenades. After being captured, he escaped from a transport train with fellow POWs and rejoined his unit before being killed in action.
Fort Hood (formerly Fort Cavazos) will be named in honor of Distinguished Service Cross recipient Col. Robert B. Hood for his extraordinary heroism during World War I. Amid intense shelling near Thiaucourt, France, then-Capt. Hood directed artillery fire under enfilading machine-gun fire. After his gun crew was lost to enemy fire, he rapidly reorganized and returned fire within minutes, restoring combat capability.
Fort Gordon (formerly Fort Eisenhower) will be named in honor of Medal of Honor recipient Master Sgt. Gary I. Gordon for his valor during the 1993 Battle of Mogadishu, Somalia. Gordon volunteered to be inserted to defend wounded crew members at a helicopter crash site and held off an advancing enemy force, protecting the pilot after exhausting all his ammunition.
Fort Lee (formerly Fort Gregg-Adams) will be named in honor of Medal of Honor recipient Pvt. Fitz Lee for his heroism during the Spanish-American War. During a coastal assault in Cuba, Lee voluntarily disembarked under direct enemy fire to rescue wounded comrades from the battlefield.
Fort Polk (formerly Fort Johnson) will be named in honor of Silver Star recipient Gen. James H. Polk for his gallantry in action as commanding officer of the 3rd Cavalry Group (Mechanized) during operations across Europe in World War II. Then-Col. Polk led reconnaissance and combat missions under fire, spearheading Third Army advances as part of Task Force Polk. He later served as commander in chief of U.S. Army Europe.
Fort Rucker (formerly Fort Novosel) will be named in honor of Distinguished Service Cross recipient Capt. Edward W. Rucker for extraordinary heroism in World War I. Flying deep behind enemy lines, then-1st Lt. Rucker and his fellow aviators engaged a numerically superior enemy force in a daring aerial battle over France, disrupting enemy movements and completing their mission against overwhelming odds.
Fort A.P. Hill (formerly Fort Walker) will be named in honor of Medal of Honor recipients Lt. Col. Edward Hill, 1st Sgt. Robert A. Pinn and Pvt. Bruce Anderson for extraordinary heroism during the Civil War. Then-Capt. Hill, Pinn and Anderson executed significant actions separately at Cold Harbor, Virginia; Chapin’s Farm, Virginia; and Fort Fisher, North Carolina, in support of the U.S. Army.
The Secretary of the Army will take immediate action to implement these redesignations, which are in accordance with Section 1749(a) of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020.
For more information, please contact usarmy.pentagon.hqda-ocpa.mbx.mrd-press-desk@army.mil.
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