On Friday morning, General Lee Avenue, located at the city’s only army base, was renamed John Warren Avenue.
Warren was a 22-year-old army lieutenant who died in the Vietnam War in January 1969.
The change is the culmination of long-standing efforts by local officials, accelerated by the recent removal of at least 230 Confederate symbols across the country to get rid of the name of Robert E. Lee.
In the coming weeks, the base will also rename Stonewall Jackson Drive, named after another Confederate military figure, Thomas J. Jackson’s Stonewall.
Lee was at Fort Hamilton from 1841 to 1846, serving as an army engineer.
For years, there has been a push to strip the foundation of these Confederate names, and this attempt has accelerated since the assassination of George Floyd in 2020. Mayor Bill de Blasio said then that Lee’s name should be removed throughout the country.
The avenue now honors Warren, who was a platoon commander in Vietnam. He was killed using his body to protect his comrades-in-arms from an enemy grenade thrown.
The Brooklyn native was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor, the country’s highest military award, for his valor.
“The names of our military assets should properly reflect the courage, values and sacrifices of our diverse military and women, and First Lieutenant John Warren Jr. is a great example of all this,” said Fort Hamilton spokeswoman Connie Dylan. statement. “He is a local hero and he has shown courage and values that our soldiers can emulate.”
Dylan said the switch had been running for nearly two years and had to be approved by the military.
Sister Warren, the only surviving member of the family, was present at the renaming ceremony.
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