AUSTIN (KXAN) — An Army post in Killeen, Texas, was renamed again, for the second time in as many years. A ceremony held on Monday marked the official redesignation of the post to Fort Hood.
In May 2023, what was originally Fort Hood — initially named after Confederate Gen. John Bell Hood — was renamed Fort Cavazos, in honor of General Richard Edward Cavazos, a native Texan, war hero and Medal of Honor recipient.
The base is now once again Fort Hood, the name now honoring World War I hero, Col. Robert Benjamin Hood. According to the Army, Col. Hood received the Distinguished Service Cross for his “extraordinary heroism” during WWI during an “intense shelling” near Thiaucourt, France.
The colonel’s daughter, Mitzi Huffman, attended the ceremony Monday and said the redesignation in her father’s name is “overwhelming.”
The Army shared a video of Huffman and her husband talking about the ceremony and what it meant to them.
“[We’re] very honored to be here, we’re still processing this, but we’re very honored,” Huffman said.
When asked what she thought her father’s response to the name designation honoring him would’ve been, she said Hood would have been, “very humbled.”
“He never talked about his military experience,” Huffman said. “I did not know that he had the Distinguished Service Cross until we were preparing him to be buried in Arlington.”
Huffman explained that she was a young teenager when Hood died, and she “kind of froze” the memories she had of him because she associated them with sadness, until about two months ago when the name change was announced. Huffman said after that, she was able to “unfreeze” and begin reflecting on some of those childhood memories with fondness.
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Lt. Gen. Kevin D. Admiral, commanding general of III Armored Corps and Fort Hood, gives remarks during the Fort Hood redesignation ceremony July 28, 2025, at III Armored Corps Headquarters at Fort Hood. (U.S. Army photo by Ayumi Davis) -
From left, Lt. Gen. Kevin D. Admiral, commanding general of III Armored Corps and Fort Hood, and Mitzi Huffman, daughter of Col. Robert B. Hood, talk alongside Col. Mark McClellan, U.S. Army Garrison-Fort Hood commander, as they prepare for the start of the Fort Hood redesignation ceremony July 28, 2025, at III Armored Corps Headquarters at Fort Hood. (U.S. Army photo by Ayumi Davis) -
Right, 1st Lt. Austin Yoakum, member of the Salute Battery for the Fort Hood redesignation ceremony, 1st Cavalry Division Artillery, presents a 75mm round to Mitzi Huffman, daughter of Col. Robert B. Hood, during the ceremony July 28 at III Armored Corps Headquarters at Fort Hood. (Photo Credit: U.S. Army photo by Ayumi Davis) -
From left, Sohail Salgado, work reception technician, Fort Hood Directorate of Public Works, Operations and Maintenance Division, and Stephen Short, air-conditioning mechanic, DPW, OMD, drop a tarp at the Bernie Beck Gate sign to reveal the new name of the installation during the commemorative renaming ceremony July 28, 2025, at Fort Hood, Texas. (Photo Credit: U.S. Army photo by Janecze Wright) -
From left, Col. Mark McClellan, U.S. Army Garrison-Fort Hood commander, and Command Sgt. Maj. Loyd Rhoades, U.S. Army Garrison-Fort Hood command sergeant major, uncase the colors for Fort Hood during the Fort Hood redesignation ceremony July 28, 2025, at III Armored Corps Headquarters at Fort Hood. (U.S. Army photo by Ayumi Davis)
According to the Army, Hood was born April 8, 1891, in Wellington, Kansas. He graduated from Kansas State Agricultural College, now Kansas State University, in Manhattan, Kansas, in 1914.
Hood was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army on Aug. 8, 1917, and served with Echo Battery, 12th Field Artillery Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division. Hood was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for his actions under fire on Sept. 12, 1918, in France during WWI, according to a press release from the Army.
“During a firefight, then-Capt. Hood ‘displayed extraordinary courage and tactical brilliance as he expertly maneuvered his artillery battery under a barrage of heavy and persistent enemy fire,'” the Army release said, citing the award narrative.
Hood later survived the Pearl Harbor attack while stationed at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii, and eventually commanded an artillery training unit at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, during World War II.
After 44 years of service, he retired in 1961 as a colonel. Hood died Oct. 12, 1964, and is buried at Arlington National Cemetery, located in Arlington, Virginia, according to the Army.
The Army’s release stated that “renaming the installation after the WWI hero was a fitting tribute, as both the man and post embodied a commitment to training and preparing warfighters.”
The post, originally designated Camp Hood, was established in 1942 as a WWII tank destroyer training center. It was initially a temporary post, but training ramped up throughout the 1940s, leading to the post’s designation as a permanent installation, according to the Army.
Fort Hood’s previous name changes
The Killeen base was one of nine U.S. Army installations redesignated in 2023 based on the Naming Commission’s recommendations to remove the names, symbols, displays, monuments and paraphernalia that honor or commemorate the Confederate States of America, according to the U.S. Army.
Several of those installations’ names are now being restored to their previous names, President Donald Trump announced in June at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.
The Fort Cavazos signage was taken down and replaced with Fort Hood signage last month, shortly after the change was announced. A ceremony held at the base on Monday marked the official change and paid respect to Col. Hood, according to a press release from the Army.
During the ceremony, Army Garrison Fort Hood commander Col. Mark McClellan and Army Garrison Fort Hood Command Sgt. Maj. Loyd Rhoades cased the Fort Cavazos colors and unfurled the Fort Hood colors.