Donald Trump surely knows how to work a political crowd.
He wasted no time doing just that Friday at a town hall of 4,500 attendees at the Crown Complex Arena.
“You know, I walked in, and the first question I was asked – should we change the name from Fort Liberty to Fort Bragg?” the former U.S. president and Republican presidential nominee was saying to the audience. “First one. So, here’s what we do. We get elected.”
And then, he said …
“I’m doing it,” the 78-year-old Trump said. “You know, we did win two world wars from Fort Bragg. This is no time to be changing names, but we’re going to do that.”
His words were met with enthusiastic applause.
Our neighboring military base was redesignated on June 2, 2023, at a ceremony on the Main Post Parade Field with about 1,000 military personnel and civilians, including Lt. Gen. Christopher Donahue and members of the Renaming Committee acting on behalf of the U.S. Department of Defense after Congress mandated dropping the names of Confederate soldiers from nine military bases.
The military base redesignations, according to published reports, are a part of the recent movement referencing social injustice and racial inequality. Fort Bragg was named after Gen. Braxton Bragg, dating back to 1918, when it was known as Camp Bragg, and since Sept. 30, 1922, when it became Fort Bragg. Gen. Bragg died at age 59 on Sept. 27, 1876.
Here’s the gist of the name change.
Gen. Bragg, according to published reports, was an advocate for the enslavement of Black people and a slaveholder himself.
Hence, adios general.
“It’s my honor to welcome you to Fort Liberty,” Donahue, commanding general of the 18th Airborne Corps, said on June 2, 2023, with the uncasing of colors for Fort Liberty.
But not everyone, particularly military veterans and retirees who call Fayetteville home, welcomes the name change. For some, they say, Fort Liberty always will be Fort Bragg, and Fort Liberty be damned. Apparently, there were plenty of them at Friday’s town hall.
Gold Star mother behind the name
Patti Elliot played a significant role in the Fort Liberty redesignation. She is the Gold Star mother who lost her son, Spc. Daniel Lucas Elliott, who was killed at age 21 on July 15, 2011, when a roadside bomb struck a vehicle while the Yungsville native was serving with the 200th Military Police Command in Basra, Iraq.
“My son died for liberty,” she told the committee to include Col. John Wilcox, then the military base’s garrison commander; retired Gen. Dan K. McNeill; retired Command Sgt. Maj. Steve England; retired Army Maj. Gen. Rodney O. Anderson; Fayetteville City Council Member Kathy Keefe Jensen; Cumberland Board of County Commissioners’ Chairperson Glenn Adams; and George Breece among them.
Patti Elliott later told me she believed it was “important to honor the thousands of soldiers who came through Fort Bragg and the thousands to come through Fort Liberty.”
Elliott says she would like to comment about Trump’s pledge to rename the military installation, but …
“Due to my position as the national president of American Gold Star Mothers,” Elliott says, “I cannot make a political statement, much as I would like to.”
‘I’m not a politician, but …’
Gen. Dan K. McNeill is the retired four-star general who served as commander of Coalition Forces in Afghanistan from 2002 to 2003, commanding general of the U.S. Army Forces Command from 2004 to 2007, and commander of the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan from Feb. 1, 2007, to June 3, 2008.
McNeill was chairperson of the Redesignation Committee.
“I am not a politician,” McNeill says. “But as is the case of most of my fellow Americans, I have become accustomed to the political rhetoric that descends upon the American scene with the advent of election seasons, especially national elections. With all of the dark clouds on the horizon, it is most dismaying to read that the ‘renaming’ of Fort Liberty has surfaced in political rhetoric.
“Hundreds of interested citizens participated in the thorough process to bring about a different, and more fitting, name to that part of the Sandhills, which was called Fort Bragg. I was one of those people. I am not certain of the number of names that were considered in that well-organized process, but I believe it could have been in the range of 70 to 100. It was hard work because of the strong opinions held by many. Nevertheless, a consensus eventually arrived. Fort Liberty is a name that rings true with the values of the men and women and families who call Liberty home. No person’s name, living or dead, can more fairly represent the essence of the Fort Liberty team of warriors, warrior families, and dedicated workforce.
“So, here is a rhetorical question that is not steeped in politics,” McNeill says. “Why would anyone want to tinker with a name that so well presents the people and teams of America’s most important installation?”
Dan Dederick is a retired Marine and U.S. Intelligence lieutenant colonel and civilian aide to the Secretary of the Army for North Carolina.
“I do not speak for the Army,” Dederick says. ”My opinion is that the name was well vetted by the Army and our veteran community. A Gold Star mother endorsed the name when she said her son died for liberty. The Bragg name came from a Confederate general of questionable leadership. Personally, I would leave the name as it is. The change was endorsed by Congress, and I feel that it was well accepted by the vast majority.”
Retired Major Gen. Al Aycock attended the June 2, 2023, ceremony and was in support of Fort Liberty, just as he is today.
“Fort Liberty is the right name,” says Aycock, who served with the 82nd Airborne Division, 18th Airborne Corps and 5th Special Forces Group Airborne, “The Liberty Point Resolves were signed in Fayetteville; the 82nd Airborne Division song echoes they are ‘the Soldiers of liberty;’ the Special Forces motto is De Oppresso Liber (liberate the oppressed), and ‘Liberty’ defines the very purpose of all those who serve, all those who support and all those who gave the ultimate sacrifice as part of our nation’s immediate response forces.”
Aycock was not a member of the Redesignation Committee.
‘Fort Liberty was the right decision’
George Breece, the longtime politico from Fayetteville, was a member of the Redesignation Committee, too.
“The changing of the name of Fort Bragg to Fort Liberty was the right decision made with the overwhelming support of the United States Congress and the Department of Defense, and most importantly, local leaders here in Cumberland County,” says Breece, an Army veteran and former chairperson of the local Military Affairs Council. “The local renaming committee was headed by retired four-star Gen. Dan McNeill, and the local committee did yeoman’s work in recommending the name of Fort Liberty.
“I would hope that revisiting this issue will never see the light of day.
“Let America focus on increasing the pay for our soldiers, continue supporting our military members’ families, and doing all we can to help our nation’s veterans and not try to turn back the clock to days that can divide us instead of uniting us. God bless all our military, and particularly those who serve our nation at Fort Liberty.”
Kathy Keefe Jensen, the city’s mayor pro tem and member of the Redesignation Committee, says it would be “a large task” to rename the military base back to Fort Bragg or any of the other eight military bases that were renamed.
“A lot of taxpayer time and money was spent on the change,” says Jensen, whose husband is a military veteran. “I think the Gold Star mom spoke volumes on the Fort Liberty name.”
Political rhetoric, Democratic N.C. senator says
State Sen. Val Applewhite is a staunch Democrat who represents District 19 for Cumberland County.
The senator says Trump was full of political rhetoric at his town hall.
“What a show it was,” Applewhite says. “As a 20-year Air Force veteran and a senator of a community that honors the sacrifices made by our military families, I believe the renaming of Fort Bragg to Fort Liberty was not just about changing a name but about recognizing the values we stand for. The process was thoughtful, collaborative and involved leaders across our community, including Gold Star mother Patti Elliot, whose son, Spc. Daniel “Lucas” Elliot, was killed by an IED attack in Iraq on July 15, 2011. She said her son died for liberty, and it was in his honor and the honor of so many others that the name ‘Liberty’ was chosen.”
Applewhite says Trump is a presidential candidate who is out of touch with the significance of the name change for the military base.
“His history of referring to fallen service members as ‘suckers’ and ‘losers’ stands in stark contrast to the respect that our military and Gold Star families deserve,” she says. “It stands to reason that someone who holds such views would have little respect for the process or the values behind the renaming of Fort Liberty.”
And something else, Applewhite says, for consideration.
“While Trump claims he could reverse the decision, renaming a military installation is not something a president can do alone,” Applewhite says. “It would require congressional and Department of Defense approval. But more importantly, this isn’t about politics. It’s about honoring the legacy of those who have served and sacrificed for this nation, and Fort Liberty stands as a symbol of that honor. Our focus should be on supporting our military and veterans, not using them as political props.”
State Sen. Tom McInnis and N.C. House Rep. Diane Wheatley, both Republicans representing Cumberland County in the General Assembly, did not respond to an email inquiry about Trump’s vow to rename the military base.
Epilogue
While Donald Trump certainly knew how to work the crowd of MAGA supporters in his Friday town hall, it was orchestrated with apparently hand-picked questions from Congressional Rep. Anna Paulina Luna of Florida, who was the moderator, as Trump and vice-presidential running mate Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio bid for the White House against Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate Gov. Tim Walz, a former member of Congress from Minnesota.
The price tag for changing Fort Bragg to Fort Liberty was $8 million, according to Col. John Wilcox, the former garrison command for the military installation.
If Donald Trump finds himself on the west front steps of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 20, 2025, for another term on 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., he’ll find himself with a promise to keep.
“I’m doing it,” he’s pledged.
Donald Trump said it. Now, if elected, Donald Trump owns it.
We’ll see, and we’ll see one way or the other where it’s all headed come Nov. 5 and beyond, should Donald J. Trump return to the White House as commander in chief.
Bill Kirby Jr. can be reached at billkirby49@gmail.com or 910-624-1961.
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