Virginia Army Base Will Be Renamed After Two Black Pioneers Of The U.S. Army

Virginia’s Fort Lee’s army base will be renamed after two Black officers of the U.S. Army. According to several news reports, Fort Lee will now be known as Fort Gregg-Adams. This comes after the Congressional Naming Commission voted to remove names, signs or anything that praise the Confederate Army or Confederate officers.

Fort Gregg-Adams is just one of nine army bases that will undergo name changes in the coming years, according to the U.S. Army website.

“We are deeply honored to have Lt. Gen. Arthur Gregg and Lt. Col. Charity Adams as the new namesakes for our installation,” said Maj. Gen. Mark Simerly, a commanding general at Fort Lee.

Lt. Gen. Gregg, a Florance, South Carolina native, enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1946. He was 17-years-old. Lt. Gregg served in Germany, as a medical laboratory technician. He then served as a Quartermaster at Leadership School at Fort Lee, before tours in Nuremberg and Germany as a member of the 95th Quartermaster Battalion, according to Military Officers Association of America.

“Once I arrived, I was told there were no medical facilities operated by the U.S. Army staffed with Black Soldiers,” Lt. Gregg said. “So, I could not get a job as a medical laboratory technician in Germany.”

Lt. Gregg earned his first and second stars as a general officer in 1972 and 1976, respectively. He was also the first Black person to earn the title of lieutenant general in the U.S. Army.

Gregg finished his career in the U.S. Army in 1981.

Maj. Adams not only pushed past being Black in America, but she was Black and a female. Despite the obstacles that come with womanhood, Maj. Adams became the first Black woman to lead a unit during her tour of World War II.

In 1944, Adams was commander of the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion. Her unit also accomplished successful missions in Rouen as well as Paris, France before being promoted to lieutenant colonel.

Adams went on to earn her master’s degree in psychology from Ohio State University.

Fort Lee will receive the official name makeover on April 27.