U.S. Army renames Fort Lee in Virginia after two Black former officers
The U.S. Army garrison in Central Virginia once known as Fort Lee was renamed Fort Gregg-Adams on Thursday, honoring two Black former officers who helped pave the way for more racial inclusivity in the military.
The renaming ceremony at the military training facility that had honored Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee was part of a broader reckoning over places and streets named after Confederate leaders — fueled, in large part, by the backlash over the 2020 killing of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer.
Pentagon officials said the post is one of nine Army installations being re-designated to remove names, symbols and other displays commemorating the Confederacy.
“This historic day belongs to American soldiers, in the present, past and future,” Maj. Gen. Mark Simerly, senior commander of the garrison, said during the renaming ceremony.
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The historic figures now honored in the fort’s name are Lt. Gen. Arthur J. Gregg and Lt. Col. Charity Adams.
Gregg, the first African American officer to receive such a high rank, began his service in the Army just after World War II, the Army said in a statement. During his 36-year career, he experienced the backlash of a desegregating military, which began shortly after he enlisted in 1946, Gregg has said.
After becoming an officer in 1949, his first assignment was at Fort Lee in 1950.
He retired in 1981 as the highest-ranking Black officer in the U.S. military. At age 94, he is now the only living person in modern Army history to have an installation named after him, the Army said.
In 1942, Adams became the first Black officer in the newly created Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps, also experiencing racism during a short military career that ended in 1946.
During World War II, she led the first and only unit of predominantly Black women to serve overseas, the Army said.
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The fort’s renaming was met with praise from political leaders in Virginia.
“It really doesn’t make sense to name our military bases after soldiers who fought against America,” Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-Va.) tweeted. “Renaming them is overdue.”
“As our commonwealth and our country continue working to dismantle long-standing systems of oppression and address institutional racism, this is another encouraging step in those efforts,” said Rep. Jennifer L. McClellan (D-Va.), who credited her predecessor, Rep. A. Donald McEachin, for his work advocating for changing the name before his death. “Our nation’s military installations, facilities and other properties should reflect the values our nation continuously strives to achieve — freedom, liberty and justice — and their names should honor those who fought for those fundamental rights for every American.”
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