CHARLESTON, W.Va. — U.S. Senator Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) is one of the U.S. senators supporting a proposal requiring the U.S. Department of Defense to remove Confederate names, monuments or symbols from military bases and equipment.
Both Democrats and Republicans on the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee supported the mandate this week which was included as an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act for FY2021.
Senator Manchin saw the measure as an important step.
“We can work towards this. It’s going to take time to do it and people should be involved and people should come forward and speak what they think,” he said during an appearance on Friday’s MetroNews “Talkline.”
“I believe that anybody who fought for the Confederacy, who fought against the Union and against, basically against our government, is something that we should not memorialize or glorify.”
The potential renamings come during a time of nationwide reckoning with symbols of the Confederacy.
Protesters calling for racial equality and police accountability following the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery and many other African Americans.
Bases named for Confederate generals or officers include Fort Hood, Texas, Fort Benning, Georgia, Fort Bragg, North Carolina, Fort Polk, Louisiana and Fort A.P. Hill, Virginia.
Earlier this week, President Donald Trump said he did not support removing such symbols of the Confederacy within the U.S. military.
It has been suggested that we should rename as many as 10 of our Legendary Military Bases, such as Fort Bragg in North Carolina, Fort Hood in Texas, Fort Benning in Georgia, etc. These Monumental and very Powerful Bases have become part of a Great American Heritage, and a…
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 10, 2020
…Our history as the Greatest Nation in the World will not be tampered with. Respect our Military!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 10, 2020
Senator Manchin said the reconsiderations should not stop with the military.
“Basically, it’s going to be state by state. I really believe that,” Manchin said.
“We all have to work and have an open mind and sit down across the line — all races, all of us sitting down — looking at a thing that we can move forward and look back on and say it’s something that we did that should have never have happened and we should have done it long ago.”
The proposal approved in the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee came from U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), a former Democratic Presidential candidate.
Seriously failed presidential candidate, Senator Elizabeth “Pocahontas” Warren, just introduced an Amendment on the renaming of many of our legendary Military Bases from which we trained to WIN two World Wars. Hopefully our great Republican Senators won’t fall for this!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 11, 2020
If passed, the U.S. Defense Department would have to create a panel to develop a plan for base and equipment renamings. The renamings were to happen within three years.
The mandate is just one provision in the broad National Defense Authorization Act authorizing $740.5 bill for national defense spending.
It was approved with a 25-2 vote.
.@Sen_JoeManchin speaks with @HoppyKercheval about proposals to remove the names of Confederate generals from US military assets. WATCH: https://t.co/wkudfIRZCB pic.twitter.com/9wzsr8SbNt
— MetroNews (@WVMetroNews) June 12, 2020