Under the direction of Congress, the Department of Defense moved another step closer to officially renaming Fort Hood and while many disagreed with the agenda, there was no dispute, “if they were gonna change it, they got the right person.”
(Video: Fox News Digital)
The quixotic mission of progressives to purge society of things deemed offensive exclusively to their palate marked its latest casualty with the final decision on the renaming of U.S. Army post Fort Hood located just outside Killeen, Texas. Roughly halfway between Waco and Austin, the 80-year-old post is set to honor the Army’s first Hispanic four-star general and native Texan, the late Gen. Richard Cavazos.
Fox News Digital spoke with retired generals on the matter and while they weren’t particularly fond of the impetus behind the renaming, each had nothing but praise and admiration for the honoree.
“I think that’s a wonderful tribute. He would be very humbled at the very idea of that,” retired Army Lt. Gen. Robert T. Clark told the outlet and suggested, “There may have been some few who were more highly decorated than he was on active duty, but I kind of doubt it.”
Having served both in the Korean and Vietnam wars, Cavazos’ distinctions included a Silver Star, two Legions of Merit, five Bronze Stars, a Purple Heart and two Distinguished Service Crosses, the second-highest award for valor in the military. The first was received in Korea where, despite his own wounds, he repeatedly returned to the battlefield to rescue fellow injured soldiers. The second was earned in Vietnam.
“He was very concerned about the welfare of his soldiers. That was his biggest thing,” retired Army Lt. Gen. Richard Graves explained to Fox News Digital.
Retired Army Lt. Gen. Lawson Magruder offered an example of such recounting an experience while serving with Cavazos in 1977, saying, “I’m there in the operations center late at night, and I’ll never forget it. Two o’clock in the morning, here comes Gen. Cavazos with his aide. And he said, ‘Lawson, I want to go visit the companies down on the line to see the soldiers. I know they’re working hard and digging in.”
“And he went down there, and things weren’t going all that well. But I have to tell you that he inspired the soldiers who were in the middle of the night digging in to meet the timeline,” he continued before adding, “He lifted us up in a period of time when he could have just crushed us. But that wasn’t Gen. Cavazos.”
Fort Hood was selected as one of nine Army posts to be renamed by the Department of Defense in an effort to erase Confederate affiliations after Congress established a Naming Commission in 2021 to address the matter.
@LarryOConnor – more misguided "erase history" wokeness to come after yesterday's decision to rename Fort Hood! pic.twitter.com/t9KE2P3ZZc
— 🔱CommanderCrypto🔱 (@TShattuckC) October 24, 2022
Fort Hood opened in 1942 and was named after West Point alumnus John Bell Hood who resigned his post with the U.S. Army at the start of the Civil War when his home state of Kentucky remained neutral.
“He is one of the most rapidly promoted leaders in the Confederate Army with a reputation as an aggressive commander who was willing, eager, and often led his troops into battle,” according to the Naming Commission. “While he initially achieved some battlefield victories, several later battles were met with defeat and suffered significant casualties, in particular the late 1864 devastating and crippling Battle of Franklin and Battle of Nashville.”
Hood, who had declared himself a Texan when joining the Confederacy, went on to become a brigadier general, was given command of the Texas Brigade which, according to the Texas State Historical Association, was “perhaps the finest brigade of Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia.”
Despicable action to change the name of Fort Hood.
Leftists are erasing our history and traditions.— Ninpax@cyclist66 (@Ninpaxcyclist61) October 24, 2022
As much as I respect Richard Cavazos, I suspect he would not be in favor of this. He would stand up for tradition and what Fort Hood stands for now. Imagine all of the businesses, schools, and other institutions that share name sake in the area that will be affected by this BS.
— T. Grant (@Texas4EverRed) October 24, 2022
Every single document they use that is preprinted with the base name, every single signage, every single piece of equipment etc that has Fort Hood on it has to be changed or thrown away.
That and basically over inflated charges (greed), for doing so.— Philip Marsden (@PhilRM1966) October 24, 2022
Despite the opposition to the renaming, the distinguished career of Cavazos stood for itself and Graves stated, “I was not supportive of changing the names…But if they were gonna change it, they got the right person.”
Even in the late years of his life when he lived at the San Antonio Army Residence Community before dying from complications related to Alzheimer’s disease in 2017, resident services director Debbie Hargett said, “He was absolutely adored by all the staff here and proudly told stories about his life growing up at King Ranch with his day, who was the ranch foreman, [and] his brother, Lauro [Cavazos], who later became part of the U.S. Cabinet as the education secretary.”
“Texas had a giant that they were very unaware of,” she said.
Graves noted, “He was just a wonderful man, a great warrior. He was a legend in his own time.”
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Native of Brooklyn, NY, Kevin Haggerty is a graduate of Hunter College where he studied Cultural Anthropology and Geography. An avid reader and truth seeker, he currently resides in Texas with his wife and their dog and, when he isn't researching current events and their impacts, you'll find him spending time with friends and family or working on his next novel.
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