A group of historians and veterans is leading the charge to rename Fort Hood after trailblazer and Killeen native Oveta Culp Hobby.

Air Force Veteran Alan Mesches says Hobby created a legacy that’s evident, even today.

The number of women who have reached the heights of the military have her to thank,” he said.

“All that wouldn’t have happened if someone wouldn’t have started it.”

The Bell County native led the women’s Army corps during World War II, a time when women in the military wasn’t very common.

“She helped train, recruit and was a one person Army,” he said.

“She was actually the final judge of classes of women that came into the officer training course.”

Fort Hood was originally Camp Hood, named after Confederate Gen. John Bell Hood.

Hood served with the U.S. for a few years before offering his services to the state of Texas and the Confederacy during the Civil War.

Author and historian Allen Mesch says the name was simply a local tie to the camp at the time of its inception.

“It was a way of honoring these Confederate veterans,” he said.

“It was in Texas and it made sense to name it that in honor of the Texas Brigade.”

In recent months, the debate on renaming Fort Hood and other Army installations resurfaced.

Mesches says while the controversy surrounding the name is very real, he thinks if the name chosen is Hobby’s, the move could unify the community.

“I think it would absolutely bring more pride to Central Texas because she’s from Killeen,” he said.

“She’s made many contributions to Texas and I think that bringing that local pride would be a fantastic thing for the Army and Central Texans.”

The group has been in contact with officials on post, the pentagon and in congress.

They’re trying to set a date to present the idea to a Senate panel in the near future.

—KWTX