FORT HOOD, TX — The national council of the League of United Latin American Citizens called on the Army to rename Fort Hood to Fort Benavidez earlier this summer. They say a Texas Medal of Honor recipient named Master Sergeant Raul Perez “Roy” Benavidez should be the namesake of the post.
However, the local chapter of the organization says that Fort Hood should not undergo a name change.
“Initially I thought it was a good idea because I know Roy Benavides. We served together. He’s been here in the house. There’s a relationship to Fort Hood,” said Raul Villaronga of LULAC Council 4535. “The general consensus was that Benavidez ought to be honored in some manner, but the members of the counsel did not support renaming Fort Hood,” he continued.
Villaronga said that he had a productive conversation with members of LULAC on the national level. LULAC members voted in favor of a resolution to change the name at a national convention, however no one from the Killeen-based chapter was in attendance. They found out about the resolution on the news.
“I really think that we should look at honoring the people, especially those who have served in a manner like he did, and I don’t think you should honor them by replacing somebody else,” said Villaronga.
Villaronga suggested honoring Benavidez by naming a school or a bridge.
“We’ve got enough room in this world to honor the heroes that we have, and we have a lot of things that we can rename without having to rename a city,” he said.
