“🎖️Old Fort Polk Trades Confederate Roots for WWI Hero’s Legacy: Meet Fort Johnson! 🎉”
TL;DR:
Trading in confederate baggage for a badass WWI hero, Louisiana’s Fort Polk ditches the old and steps into the new with a slick renaming! 🔄 They’ve traded General Leonidas Polk for Sergeant William Henry Johnson – and it’s quite an upgrade if you ask us! Johnson was a World War I Medal of Honor recipient who served in the all-Black 369th U.S Infantry Regiment. 🏅 Now the question is: “Is this enough, or do we need more sweeping changes in how we name our institutions?” 🤔
With the national reckoning with America’s troubling past coming to a head, things are literally taking on new names! Not just a lick of paint, we’re talking complete overhauls. And the latest transformation has swept through the heart of Louisiana’s military establishments. Goodbye, Fort Polk, hello Fort Johnson!
The name-swap represents a much-needed departure from honoring Confederate figures and instead choosing to celebrate American heroes who embody the spirit of justice, bravery, and equality.🗽 And boy, did they choose a doozy!
But who’s the man stealing the show? Enter Sgt. William Henry Johnson, a hard-as-nails WWI Medal of Honor recipient, and a paragon of the warrior spirit. 🎖️ Talk about an upgrade, right?
With a service record that could put Hollywood action heroes to shame, Johnson was part of the all-Black 369th U.S Infantry Regiment, earning himself France’s highest award for valor, the French Croix de Guerre avec Palme. 🇫🇷 Now that’s some serious international recognition!
Former President Teddy Roosevelt even named him one of the five bravest Americans to serve in WWI. So why was this courageous man’s name not on a military base sooner, one might ask? 🕰️
The shift from Fort Polk, named after Confederate commander Lt. Gen. Leonidas Polk, to Fort Johnson isn’t a one-off incident. It’s part of a sweeping campaign to rename nine U.S. Army bases. From North Carolina’s Fort Bragg switching to Fort Liberty, to Georgia’s Fort Benning morphing into Fort Moore, the winds of change are blowing, folks! 🌬️
Posthumous awards also piled up for our man Johnson. After his death in 1929, he scored a Purple Heart in 1996, the Distinguished Service Cross in 2003, and the Medal of Honor in 2015. But does recognition after death truly serve justice to the individual’s life and accomplishments? 💔
We’re poised to see even more changes in the names of these hallowed grounds. Georgia’s Fort Gordon will soon become Fort Eisenhower, honoring Army General Dwight D. Eisenhower, while Virginia’s Fort A.P. Hill will celebrate Dr. Mary Edwards Walker. But is this just a symbolic gesture, or does it hold more significance? 🌟
So, it’s time to ask: Is swapping out the names enough to change public perception and right historical wrongs? Or do we need to take more concrete actions to address and rectify the injustices of the past? And perhaps the most controversial question: In the grand scheme of things, is it possible to fully sever ties with a troubled past by simply changing a name, or is it an oversimplified approach to a much more complex issue? 🧐
Your thoughts, ladies, and gentlemen? 👀
