Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth yesterday signed a memorandum directing that Fort Liberty, North Carolina, be renamed to Fort Bragg.
The new name honors Army Pfc. Roland L. Bragg, a native of Sabattus, Maine, who enlisted in July 1943 at age 23. He served during World War II with the 513th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 17th Airborne Division, XVIII Airborne Corps.
Bragg received the Silver Star for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity and a Purple Heart for wounds sustained during the Battle of the Bulge. As part of his actions, Bragg saved a fellow soldier’s life by commandeering an enemy German ambulance so that he could transport a wounded service member 20 miles to an allied hospital in Belgium. The ambulance was under enemy fire the entire time.
Following WWII, Bragg returned home to Maine and married. He owned an auto body shop and later a company that moved buildings. In 1984, he also ran a business that operated a portable sawmill. Bragg died in January 1999 and is buried in Nobleboro, Maine.
The North Carolina installation, one of the largest in the U.S. Army, is home to the XVIII Airborne Corps and its 82nd Airborne Division, as well as the U.S. Army Special Operations Command. The installation was initially called Camp Bragg from 1918 until it was redesignated as Fort Bragg in September 1922. In 2023, the name was changed to Fort Liberty. With direction signed yesterday by Hegseth, the installation will again be called Bragg, but this time in honor of Army Pfc. Roland L. Bragg.
“I was honored to be able to put my signature on that [memorandum,] by the way, with the support of the president of the United States, who set the tone on this and said ‘I want Fort Bragg back,'” Hegseth told reporters during a briefing today in Stuttgart, Germany. “We’re honored to support a private first class who received a Purple Heart and the Silver Star at the Battle of the Bulge.”
For nearly a century as Camp Bragg and subsequently as Fort Bragg, tens of thousands of soldiers trained and deployed to crises and conflicts around the world in defense of the nation, Hegseth wrote in his memorandum.
“Fort Bragg has a long and proud history of equipping, training, and preparing our soldiers to fight and prevail in any operational environment,” he said.
Hegseth said the move to rename Fort Liberty to Fort Bragg was about restoring the legacy of the service members who trained and served there.
“It’s about that legacy; it’s about the connection to the community, to those who’ve served,” he said.
The secretary also said that there are other installations being looked at which may undergo name changes as well.
