Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has ordered the renaming of Fort Liberty in North Carolina back to Fort Bragg, but this time in honor of a World War II hero rather than the Confederate general for whom it was originally named.
Hegseth signed the directive aboard a C-17 military transport plane en route to Stuttgart, Germany, on Monday, fulfilling a campaign promise by President Donald Trump to restore the base’s previous name.
The newly renamed Fort Roland L. Bragg will now commemorate Pfc. Roland L. Bragg, a paratrooper who earned the Silver Star and Purple Heart for his bravery during the Battle of the Bulge.
“That’s right. Bragg is back,” Hegseth said in a video posted to X (formerly Twitter) after signing the memo.
Bragg is back! I just signed a memorandum reversing the naming of Fort Liberty back to Fort Bragg. pic.twitter.com/EGgZNHK72x
— Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth (@SecDef) February 11, 2025
Fort Bragg, one of the world’s largest military installations, was originally named in 1918 after Braxton Bragg, a Confederate general known for losing key battles during the Civil War. In 2023, the base was renamed Fort Liberty as part of a broader effort by the Department of Defense to remove Confederate names from U.S. military installations.
The change was part of a congressionally mandated review initiated under the 2021 National Defense Authorization Act, following nationwide protests in 2020 that led to calls for removing Confederate symbols from public institutions.
President Trump vetoed the defense bill in 2020 in opposition to the renaming provisions, but Congress overrode the veto.
During his 2024 presidential campaign, Trump vowed to restore Fort Bragg’s original name, arguing that the base had been instrumental in winning two world wars. Hegseth, a veteran who previously served at Fort Bragg, had also opposed the renaming, stating that “legacy matters.”
The new namesake, Pfc. Roland L. Bragg, was recognized for his heroism in one of World War II’s deadliest battles.
According to the Pentagon’s statement, Bragg risked his life to save a fellow soldier by commandeering an enemy ambulance and driving 20 miles to transport the wounded man to an Allied hospital in Belgium. His actions earned him the Silver Star, the third-highest military combat decoration in the United States, as well as the Purple Heart.
“The directive honors the personal courage and selfless service of all those who have trained to fight and win our nation’s wars, including Pfc. Bragg, and is in keeping with the installation’s esteemed and storied history,” Pentagon Press Secretary John Ullyot said in a statement.
