April 13, 2021

Castro, Gallego, and Hispanic Caucus Urge Defense Department to Rename Ft. Hood After Mexican-American Medal of Honor Recipient, Update Base Naming Criteria

WASHINGTON — Today, Congressman Joaquin Castro (TX-20) and Congressman Ruben Gallego (AZ-7) led 18 additional members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus in a letter urging Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and the DOD renaming commission to ensure that Latino military heroes are honored as new namesakes for at least one of the 10 Army bases with Confederate names that await renaming. In last year’s National Defense Authorization Act, Congress mandated that DOD rename all bases, installations, and property with Confederate names. The CHC had previously worked to ensure that Latinos were represented on the DOD renaming commission.  

“Latinos have fought and died in every single American war since our nation’s independence, yet too often our community’s service and sacrifice has been overlooked”, said Congressman Castro. “As we remove the stain of the Confederacy from our nation’s military bases and assets, we have a unique opportunity to ensure that the legacy of Latino military service is celebrated and honored – including with the renaming of at least one Army base after a Latino Army hero. Fort Hood in Texas is the natural candidate, and there could be no better namesake than Army MSG Roy Benavidez, a Mexican-American Medal of Honor Recipient who spent many of his years in San Antonio and is buried in Bexar County.” 

“U.S. Army bases should not be named after traitors who rose in rebellion against the United States and attempted to destroy that same U.S. Army in the field,” said Congressman Gallego. “We should instead honor the people who upheld their oaths to the Constitution through brave and honorable service to the United States. There are no shortage of Soldiers who have done so across the years, and it is long past due to recognize the defenders of America that represent America, including Latinos.”

Additional Signatories of the letter include: CHC Chairman Raul Ruiz and Representatives Sylvia Garcia, Filemon Vela, Veronica Escobar, Salud Carbajal, Adriano Espaillat, J. Luis Correa, Grace F. Napolitano, Juan Vargas, Linda T. Sánchez, Nanette Diaz Barragán, Darren Soto, Norma J. Torres, Tony Cárdenas, Jesús G. "Chuy" García, Ritchie Torres, Lucille Roybal-Allard, and Pete Aguilar. 

Full letter text is available here. 

 

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