Is there any reason we have to keep “fort” for all of these institutions? Forts had their purpose, it no longer exists. Can’t we just get rid of that part too?
On May 2, 1968, Staff Sergeant Roy P. Benavidez volunteered to come to the rescue of a twelve-man Green Beret patrol overrun by a thousand North Vietnamese infantry. The mission would prove to be, in Benavidez’s words, “six hours of hell.” Under heavy fire, he loaded eight wounded men onto helicopters not once but twice (because the first one was shot down). Benavidez survived a total of thirty gunshot, bayonet, blunt trauma, and shrapnel wounds. Believed dead when a crew arrived to retrieve him, he used his last ounce of strength to spit in the face of a doctor who was zipping him into a body bag—it was the only way he could prove he was still alive.
I am not against naming it for Robinson, but I am wondering about this statement.
“is the most significant American to have ever been stationed at Fort Hood”
For all the soldiers who served there to begin with, Robinson is the most significant? And secondly, did they mean the most significant African American to have been stationed there?
Fun fact: At the 1964 Republican convention Robinson was a Rockefeller supporter. Apparently he was harassed and shoved by some of the retrograde element of Goldwater supporters. He was so shaken by the incident that he compared the atmosphere in the hall to being a Jew in Nazi Germany.
If they call it “Robinson Base”, the white supremacists will just complain that it’s another one he stole. (I realize there are several layers to that comment, take what you will from it…).
“Forts” haven’t been real forts for a very long time, it’s one of those traditional names that stuck. Calling them an army base isn’t really any better…the best option would be to cut military funding so we don’t have so many of them. There are plenty of accomplished non-white, non-traitor soldiers to use for name inspiration, though I like the sentiment maybe it would be better to bring some of those people forward instead, so that their bravery and sacrifice for the nation becomes more widely known. There’s a lot of white people who think the military success is dependent on white men, changing that perspective is a really good idea.
Yeah I like that. Even Camp Jackie Robinson. It makes more sense to me than Fort Robinson does. Not that it matters if it makes sense to me; just sayin hahahaha