Joseph S Stringham, BG, US ARMY ret, Chairman, National Ranger Memorial Foundation has issued a warning about damage to the US Army Ranger Memorial at Fort Benning, GA for political reasons. You can read the warning below.
NATIONAL RANGER MEMORIAL FOUNDATION
PO Box 762
Columbus, GA 31902
Fellow Rangers:
In my capacity as Chairman of the National Ranger Memorial Foundation (NRMF), I am informing all of a directive the NRMF received from the management of Ft Benning, GA (specifically. Col Colin Mahle, Garrison Commander), directing the Foundation remove specific names from our RANGER Monument/Memorial. These names are Col John S Mosby 1992 RHOF, Mosby memorial paver, Quantrill memorial paver, George Bowman memorial paver with reference to BG Morgan and Jackson Bowman paver with reference to BG Morgan. While all of this is wrapped in the legal promulgation of a law passed by the Pelosi 117th Congress, importantly the action directed at me is an interpretation of said law by a Naming Committee established by the DOD and the OSECARMY management and passed down to installation level management. This is the case with Ft Benning and our RANGER Memorial.
Implementation of dramatic/radical edicts and shifts in policy at issue here are frequently accompanied by inaccuracies, (stupid) interpretations, injustices to survivors and a strong political slant offensive to substantial sectors of society. The deceased named in this directive, the Mosby family and the Bowen family in particular, are victims of woefully targeted legislation enacted by the Pelosi, WOKE, 117th Congress. Interpretations of this legislation have received the slavish obedience by both civilian and military management at the national level as passed down, apparently without verification, to our installations. For example, and wrongly identified with the Confederacy, Gen Morgan was a BG in the Continental Army under Gen Washington and the hero of the Battle of Cow Pens against the British. Gen Morgan had passed away 57 years before the start of the Civil War. The injustice to the name of John S Mosby and his descendants is extraordinary and thoughtless. Notwithstanding his extraordinary combat record, Ambassador Mosby, a staunch anti- slavery activist, was appointed by President Grant as US Ambassador to China later in his distinguished service to our Nation.
This being the case, the officers and board of the NRMF decided to implement all demands made by the installation management (Col Mahle) to limit visible damage to the monument through unilateral action verbalized by the Ft Benning Garrison Commander. The Mosby Paver, Quantrill Paver, George Bowman and Jackson Pavers have been removed. The Mosby inscription on the 1992 Ranger Hall of Fame stone tablet has been appropriately covered so as not to deface the other names accompanied on the same tablet.
I’ll close with a message I recently received from an affiliate Ranger:
“Removing bricks and etching out names will not promote peace within our Nation nor will renaming installations and covering headstones heal us or ensure equality.”
Feel free to contact me individually or Col Mahle [[email protected] ], Ft Benning Garrison Commander, with concerns or thoughts.
This is not the last word.
Rangers Lead the Way!
Joseph S Stringham
BG, US ARMY ret
Chairman, National Ranger Memorial Foundation
