The family of a Vietnam War hero who lived in Alabama expressed sadness and anger that his and his wife’s names are being stripped from an Army base in Georgia.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced Monday that Fort Moore, the Columbus, Georgia installation near the Alabama state line named after the late Lt. Gen. Hal Moore and his wife, Julia Compton Moore, will be switched back to Fort Benning.

Hal Moore, who was portrayed by Mel Gibson in the film “We Were Soldiers” and lived in Auburn, is considered a national hero for his actions at the Battle of Ia Drang.

Moore lived in Alabama for many years, dying in Auburn in 2017 at age 94.

He saved the lives of most of his men despite being heavily outnumbered by North Vietnamese forces. At the time, he was Lieutenant Colonel in command of the 1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry Regiment.

Julia Compton Moore, a longtime Auburn resident, is credited with changing how the Army notifies military spouses of members killed in action.

Their son, retired Col. David Moore, who continues to live in Auburn, criticized Hegseth’s decision.

“We’re saddened; I’m personally angered that the secretary of defense in choosing the characteristics and qualities he wanted of the renaming, he chose to reject Hal and Julia Moore, and those very qualities and characteristics that they already represent,” David Moore told Task & Purpose on Tuesday.

He said the Defense Department has not consulted the family after Hegseth ordered the Army to find another way to honor his parents.

“They had what they needed,” David Moore said, according to the outlet. “All they had to do was do nothing, and I think over time, we would have used the example of Hal and Julia Moore to raise great soldiers in the Columbus, Fort Moore area. So, if they have anything else in mind, the family hasn’t been contacted.

Fort Benning had been named after Confederate Gen. Henry L. Benning.

In the wake of the George Floyd protests, a congressional naming commission recommended changing the names of military bases tied to Confederate leaders.

As for Fort Benning, the commission recommended changing the installation to Fort Moore.

Then-Defense Secretary and Mobile native Lloyd Austin accepted the recommendation and changed the name in 2023.

Now Hegseth is nixing the change while removing Fort Benning’s Confederate connection.

“The new name pays tribute to Corporal (CPL) Fred G. Benning, who was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for his extraordinary heroism in action during World War I with the U.S. Army in France in 1918,” the Defense Department said in a statement. “This change underscores the installation’s storied history of service to the United States of America, honors the warfighter ethos, and recognizes the heroes who have trained at the installation for decades and will continue to train on its storied ranges.”

The Army awarded the Distinguished Service Cross to Benning for “extraordinary heroism in action” during events that took place Oct. 9, 1918, south of Exermont, France.

“After the enemy killed his platoon commander and disabled two senior non-commissioned officers, Cpl. Benning took command of the surviving 20 men of his company and courageously led them through heavy fire to their assigned objective in support of the Meuse-Argonne Offensive,” Hegseth’s memo reads, adding that Benning “continued his selfless service” after returning home from the war Sept. 3, 1919, and ultimately going on to serve as the mayor of Neligh, Nebraska.

Benning died in May 1974.