Chief Batton and Asst. Chief Austin Attend Barfoot Renaming Ceremony in Virginia

BLACKSTONE, Va. – Choctaw Chief Gary Batton and Assistant Chief Jack Austin, Jr. attended a redesignation ceremony at the newly-named Fort Barfoot in Nottoway County, Virginia on Friday, March 24.

Chief joined several dignitaries in attendance to rename the former Fort Pickett to the newly renamed Fort Barfoot in honor of Second Lieutenant Van T. Barfoot, a Choctaw descendant. Barfoot’s family has ties to the Choctaw Nation from Mississippi.

“It was such an honor to be a part of the naming of Camp Barfoot,” Chief Batton said. “It is quite appropriate that an American hero and a Tushka (warrior) such as Second Lt. Van T. Barfoot who served in WWII, Korea and Vietnam be honored for the first military base to be named after a Native American. He truly represented the Chahta spirit as he received the Medal of Honor, three Purple Hearts, Silver Star and Bronze Star for his heroic acts of valor.”

The renaming ceremony including comments from several Virginia elected officials, military officials and members of Barfoot’s family. The Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma was represented with the Choctaw flag on the stage of the ceremony as well as tribal dances in honor of Second Lt. Barfoot.

This is first of nine redesignation ceremonies to rename Army National Guard installations originally named for Confederate generals. This distinction is important to Native Americans as this marks the first Army facility to be named after a Native American, according to military staff at the ceremony. Second Lt. Barfoot was a Medal of Honor recipient for his actions in World War II during a battle near Carano, Italy.

“He knew that people looked at him, having been a Medal of Honor recipient, as being a war hero,” his son Tom Barfoot said in a 2012 TV interview following his dad’s death at age 92. “But he never saw himself as being a hero. Dad’s legacy, to me, was family. He was all about his God, his family, and his country, in that order.”

You can view the entire renaming ceremony below or on YouTube.

Following Second Lt. Barfoot’s death in 2012, then-Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell issued the following statement: “Second Lt. Barfoot’s extraordinary heroism, demonstration of magnificent valor, and aggressive determination in the face of pointblank fire are a perpetual inspiration to his fellow soldiers.”

For more information on Second Lt. Barfoot’s heroism, visit the Congressional Medal of Honor Society’s website.