SAN ANTONIO – Fort Hood is being renamed this May after years of negative headlines that have marred the reputation of the U.S. Army post.
Fort Hood will officially be redesignated Fort Cavazos on May 9 in honor of a Texas-born hero of the Korean and Vietnam wars — Gen. Richard Edward Cavazos.
According to a press release, the post is one of nine U.S. Army installations being redesignated based on the Naming Commission’s recommendations to remove the names, symbols, displays, monuments and paraphernalia that honor or commemorate the Confederate States of America.
“We are ready and excited to be part of such a momentous part of history, while we honor a leader who we all admire,” said III Armored Corps Commanding General Lt. Gen. Sean Bernabe. “We are proud to be renaming Fort Hood as Fort Cavazos in recognition of an outstanding American hero, a veteran of the Korea and Vietnam wars and the first Hispanic to reach the rank of four-star general in our Army”
Cavazos became the first Hispanic to reach the rank of brigadier general in the U.S. Army in 1976. He was promoted to become the first Hispanic four-star general in 1982 and retired from the Army in 1984.
Cavazos lived in San Antonio during his 33-year retirement and is credited with mentoring many Army commanders. He died in Oct. 2017 and is buried at San Antonio’s Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery.