Fort Bragg name is officially back, Army post officials say

FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. (WTVD) -- It's official -- Fort Bragg is back.

The Fort Bragg Public Affairs Office said Friday that Fort Liberty is renamed to Bragg, effective immediately. An official ceremony is in the works, but there is no scheduled date yet.

Originally named for Confederate Gen. Braxton Bragg, now the post's name is dedicated to Pfc. Roland L. Bragg, who served in World War II from July 1943 to November 1945.

He earned a Silver Star and a Purple Heart for his service at the Battle of the Bulge, the Department of Defense said.

"He'd be humble, but he'd be surprised, and he'd be very pleased," Roland's daughter Debra Sokoll told ABC11 earlier this week.

The process will include updating all official documentation, signage and digital platforms, according to the public affairs office.

Post officials said there will be an official ceremony for the renaming "in the very near future."

'Bragg is back!'

Sokoll, 74, of Nobelboro, Maine, heard about the renaming a day after Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth signed a memo restoring the name of the Army post known as Fort Liberty since 2023 to Fort Bragg.

In a video he posted on X announcing that he was renaming the base, Hegseth said: "That's right. Bragg is back!"

Since President Donald Trump started his second term, there had been speculation that the post could revert to its original name. It became Fort Liberty during former President Joe Biden's administration. That was part of a national effort under Biden to remove names that honored Confederate leaders.

Trump promised to redesignate Fort Liberty back to Bragg on the campaign trail last year. He hinted at the name reversal during his town hall in Fayetteville back in October.

Featured video is from a previous report.