Pete Hegseth Renames Military Base To ‘Fort Bragg’ – With a Twist
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth signed a memorandum Monday to bring back the original name of North Carolina’s Fort Liberty – renaming the base Fort Bragg.
The massive U.S. Army complex opened in 1918 and was named after Confederate General Braxton Bragg. The name of the base was changed in 2022 following a directive from former Pentagon head Lloyd Austin.
President Donald Trump vowed during his campaign to change the name of the installation back to its original. On Monday evening, Hegseth announced the change had been made. The former Fox News host signed a memo and declared, “Bragg is back!”
He said, “There it is! Pursuant to the authority of the secretary of defense, title 10 United States Code section 113, I direct the Army to change the name of Fort Liberty, North Carolina to Fort Bragg, North Carolina. That’s right, Bragg is back.
While Hegseth reinstated the name of the base, he neglected to share in his social media video there was a twist: the base is being named after a different Bragg.
Hegseth posted an image of the memorandum moments after he posted his video and the document revealed Fort Bragg would be named after a World War II veteran named Roland Bragg.
Hegseth’s Memo read:
Pursuant to the authority of the Secretary of Defense, Title 10, United States Code, Section 113, I direct the Army to change the name of Fort Liberty, North Carolina, to Fort Bragg. North Carolina, in honor of Private First Class Roland L. Bragg, who served with great distinction during World War II with the United States Army, and in recognition of the installation’s storied history of service to the United States of America. Born in 1923 in Sabattus, Maine, Pfc. Bragg entered U.S. Army service and was assigned to the 513th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 17th Airborne Division, XVII Airborne Corps, and was stationed at Fort Bragg during World War II.
Pfc. Bragg fought with distinction in the European theater of operations. He received the Silver Star for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity, and the Purple Heart for wounds sustained, during the Battle of the Bulge. During these hellish conditions and amidst ferocious fighting, Pfe. Bragg saved a fellow Soldier’s life by commandeering an enemy ambulance and driving it 20 miles to transport a fellow wounded
warrior to an allied hospital in Belgium.
