Fort Benning renaming ceremony scheduled for May

Fort Benning, Georgia, trains Army recruits and is home to the Army's infantry and Armor schools. (US Army)

Army officials say Fort Benning will be officially renamed Fort Moore in a ceremony in May.

Amy public affairs officials say the renaming ceremony will take place at Doughboy Stadium on the base on May 11. Full details of the renaming ceremony have not been released.

The new name is to honor Lt. Gen. Harold "Hal" Moore and his wife, Julia. During his 32-years of service beginning in 1945, Lt. Gen. Moore served all over the world and stateside. Officials says he and his wife to embody the typical Army family with Lt. Moore representing the infantry and armor soldiers stations and Mrs. Moore embodying the sacrifices made by military families at the base. Army officials say together they were a unique "command team" living the courage, fighting spirit and devotion to the welfare of the country and their family.

Both were buried on the base.

Over the next year, signs in and around the base will be changed as well as all road signs leading into the facility. That will be completed by early next year.

The Moore family

The Moore family (U.S. Army)

The base was previously named for Henry L. Benning, a brigadier general in the Confederate States Army during the Civil War. It was one of ten Army installations for former Confederate generals. The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 included a provision those bases to be renamed by 2024.

The Army Maneuver Center of Excellence, the Army Armor School, Army Infantry School, the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation, the 75th Ranger Regiment, the 1st Security Force Assistance Brigade among other units call the future Fort Moore home.

The base is located about 100 miles south-southwest of Atlanta near the city of Columbus, Georgia.