We asked readers what they would rename Fort Benning. Here’s what you had to say
Fort Benning will be renamed in the coming years, but what will it be called?
We asked readers to vote on the names local stakeholders have floated as possible replacements or suggest a new one for one of the nation’s largest Army installations.
Here is a summary of the 769 responses:
Col. Puckett leads the way
Col. Ralph Puckett Jr., who was awarded the Medal of Honor by President Joe Biden earlier this year, was the top choice among the four names Maj. Gen Patrick Donahoe, the post’s commanding general, said local stakeholders have floated for Benning’s new name. Several respondents said they liked the ring of Fort Puckett.
Puckett, company commander of the then newly-conceived Eighth U.S. Army Ranger Company, was wounded during a critical battle at Hill 205 on Nov. 25 and 26, 1950 where Chinese soldiers surrounded Puckett’s company.
“Naming the Installation after Col. Ralph Puckett Jr. matches the long-lasting contribution he has made to Ft. Benning and the surrounding community as well as the men and women who have passed through the gates. He represents the spirit of Selfless Service, Dedication, and Honor,” wrote survey-taker Wil B. Neubauer.
George C. Marshall, who led the Army’s Infantry School at Fort Benning post-World War I, was second. He served as secretary of state and then as secretary of defense under President Harry Truman. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1953.
The Maneuver Center of Excellence was third, and Julie and Lt. Gen. Hal Moore placed fourth.
Other suggestions
Puckett did not lead all suggested choices, however. Gen William T. Sherman was the top selection. A majority of the responses reference Sherman’s March to the Sea, an 1864 scorched earth military campaign that began at the conquered city of Atlanta and ended with the capture of Savannah.
Many of the responses mention having a post named after “an American general, not a Confederate traitor.”
“Sherman was instrumental in ensuring the survival of the Union and deserves to have a significant base named after him. Although he seems to be most remembered for his scorched earth policy in Georgia, he liberated large numbers of black Georgians from slavery, and it would be fitting to rename a base in Georgia after him for that reason alone,” a portion of Cameron Kummer’s response reads.
Another popular submitted choice was Iraq War hero Alwyn C. Cashe. Cashe was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 15th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division based at Fort Benning.
On Oct. 17, 2005, Cashe pulled six badly burned soldiers from a burning vehicle outside the city of Samarra after a roadside bomb ruptured the fuel tank of the vehicle he was riding in. Cashe’s uniform was covered in fuel and caught fire, resulting in second-and-third degree burns over most of his body. He died three weeks later.
Lt. Gen Gary Brito, former commanding general of Fort Benning who served as Cashe’s battalion commander, has pushed for Cashe to be awarded the Medal of Honor. Brito now serves as Deputy Chief of Staff of the United States Army in Washington D.C.
“You don’t often find truly selfless sacrifice where someone put his soldiers’ welfare before his own,” Brito told the Los Angeles Times in 2014. “Sgt. Cashe was horribly wounded and continued to fight to save his men.”