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VERNON PARISH, La. (KALB) - A report from the commission tasked with renaming U.S. military posts that honor confederate officers said the project will cost a total of $21 million. Fort Polk is one of the nine being renamed, and officials said the process for the Vernon Parish post alone will cost an estimated $1.3 million.

The naming commission said that money will be used to rebrand everything from welcome marquees and street signs to water towers and hospital doors.

The commission reported the cost in its final report released on August 8, 2022, to Congress.

The document also provided detailed and unflattering descriptions of the confederate officers whose names would be removed. For example, the report said Fort Polk was named after Leonidas Polk, a confederate general and slave-owning bishop who “continued promotion and status even while his actions as a commander led to repeated defeats.”

The naming commission has recommended Fort Polk be renamed Fort Johnson after William Henry Johnson, a Black medal of honor recipient who served in the Army in World War I.

The secretary of defense is expected to implement the commission’s plan to rename all nine military posts no later than the start of 2024.

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