By Dennis Romero
Named after a Confederate Major General who led troops in battle against the United States during the Civil War, Fort Hood U.S. Army Base will be renamed after a four-star Latin American postwar Army general .
The new name will honor General Richard Cavazos, who stood out for his leadership during the Korean War, when he received the Silver Star and the Distinguished Service Cross
for leading the Puerto Rican regiment 'Los Borinqueers'.
He also served in Vietnam.
US Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin ordered the name change Thursday.
Portrait of General Richard Cavazos.
United States Army via NBC News
Cavazos, who died in 2017 at age 78, was a Mexican-American from Kingsville, Texas, who commanded III Corps, based at Fort Hood, among other assignments.
The name change, which could take months to complete, falls under
the Defense Authorization Act of 2021
, which mandates the removal of all images and titles that "honor or commemorate the Confederate States of America."
The movement to remove Confederate monuments from public spaces across the country gained momentum after the deadly 2017 Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, and after the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis in 2020.
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Naming the base after a Native Texas Latino fulfills the goal of the Congressional Names Commission to inspire service members from diverse communities by giving military installations "proud new names that are rooted in their communities and that honor American heroes whose valor, courage and patriotism exemplify the best of the United States armed forces," according to the memorandum's reference to the words of Names Commission Chairman and Admiral Michelle M. Howard.
"He overcame racism and other obstacles throughout his 33 years of service and ended up leading the US Armed Forces Command, making him
one of the highest-ranking Army officers of his time
," the Congressional Hispanic Caucus said in a letter recommending that the late general's name be substituted for Hood's.
More than one in four people in Bell County, home to the military base, is Hispanic, according to the US Census Bureau.
[Soldier Found Dead at Fort Hood Military Base, Texas]
Rep. Joaquin Castro, a Democrat from Texas, supported renaming more military installations for Latinos, and was pleased that the commission recommended Cavazos in May.
"Throughout our nation's history,
Hispanic and Latino service members have served with courage and distinction
, even though they have, at times, faced discrimination at home and abroad," Castro said in a statement at that time.
The Fort Cavazos base will be a "welcoming community that our service members and military families are proud to call home," he added.
[Another body found outside Fort Hood base in Texas]
Eight other Army bases were also to be renamed
based on the commission's recommendations.
General Hood was from Kentucky and is perhaps best known for commanding the Confederate Army's Texas Brigade, a role that put him in the history books as an aggressive leader, personally leading his troops into dangerous situations.
He joined the Confederacy after resigning from the US Army.