Fort Hood to be Redesignated as Fort Cavazos on May 9

Fort Hood, one of the largest US Army installations located in Texas, is set to be redesignated as Fort Cavazos on May 9 in honor of Gen. Richard Edward Cavazos, a Texas-born war hero who served in the Korean and Vietnam wars. The renaming ceremony will be held at III Armored Corps Headquarters and is part of the Naming Commission’s recommendation to remove the names, symbols, displays, monuments and paraphernalia that honor or commemorate the Confederate States of America.

Cavazos was born on January 31, 1929, in Kingsville, Texas, to Mexican American parents, Lauro and Thomasa Quintanilla Cavazos. He began his military career in 1951 and was deployed to Korea, where he was the platoon leader of E Company, 2nd Battalion, 65th Infantry Regiment. He was awarded the Silver Star and a Distinguished Service Cross for his service and actions during his time in Korea.

Cavazos was assigned to Fort Hood in 1953, where he eventually reached the rank of lieutenant colonel. He later commanded the 1st Battalion, 18th Infantry Regiment, during his deployment to Vietnam in 1967 and was awarded his second Distinguished Service Cross. He became the first Hispanic to reach the rank of brigadier general in the US Army in 1976 and was promoted to become the first Hispanic four-star general in 1982.

Fort Hood is home to more than 34,500 soldiers and airmen, along with an additional 48,500 family members. It also mobilizes, trains, deploys and demobilizes 24,000 Reserve and National Guard soldiers annually in support of global operations. In addition, Fort Hood is the largest single local-location employer in the state of Texas, with over 4,000 civilian employees and nearly 5,000 contractors working there. According to the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts, Fort Hood’s economic impact is estimated at $28.8 billion on the Texas economy. The renaming ceremony will be open to invited guests and news media, and a video of the event will be livestreamed on social media.

Images of Gen. Richard E. Cavazos, Courtesy of the Veterans Administration.