Fort Hood Was Named After a Confederate General. Should the Texas Army Base Get a New Name?

KILLEEN — In the wake of the deadly white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, the argument over Confederate memorials has reached a fever pitch, and some Central Texas residents say that Fort Hood — one of the largest military bases in the world and a garrison named in honor of Confederate Gen. John Bell Hood — should be renamed."We named a U.S. military base for a Confederate, someone who fought to destroy the United States," said 44-year-old Riakos Adams, secretary of the Killeen chapter of the NAACP and a 22-year Army veteran. "It doesn't make any sense."Fort Hood, located 60 miles north of Austin, opened in 1942 and is one of 10 U.S. Army bases named after Confederate leaders. The base employs more than 60,000 people.Since Charlottesville, a movement to change the names of military installations that honor Confederate leadership has gained steam. On Monday, almost two dozen House Democrats sent a letter to Secretary of Defense James Mattis urging him to reevaluate the names."These designations only serve to promote a dark and divisive time in our history and do not uphold the best of our country," the letter states.  Continue reading...