FORT BENNING, Ga. (WRBL) — Thursday will be a significant day in Columbus and U.S. Army history.

After 105 years, the name of Fort Benning will be changed to Fort Moore to honor Lt. Gen. Hal Moore and his wife, Julia.

The historic nature of this event is not lost on Greg and David Moore. But they know this is about Army families, service, and sacrifice.

Here’s what they are thinking on the eve of the name change.

Julia Moore was an Army wife during the Korean War, the Vietnam War, and the move to an all-volunteer military.

When Congress ordered the names of those associated with the Confederacy removed from military installations, that meant Confederate Gen. Henry L. Benning was out and there was a naming opportunity.

David Moore and his siblings proposed their parents, but not in the order you might expect.

“It was Julia and then it became Hal,” David Moore said.

Greg Moore echoed that.

“It was always Julia from the start,” he said.

When Lt. Gen. Hal Moore and his wife Julia’s names go on the fort, it will be the only Army post in the country named for a military couple. And it will honor the service of the entire military family.

“There are many great military leaders, many great military commanders,” David Moore said. “But what makes Hal who Hal was, was Julia. And Julia is the center of gravity, the core of the offering that we proposed. And without that, there would be no proposal.”

Greg is clear that this does not and would not have happened without his mom’s name attached.

“He would never have permitted this to go forward unless she was the center and the value that this post should represent,” Greg Moore said.

“I think he’d be happy for that, that as mom would say, ‘You know, when will I ever come first?’ David Moore said. “And that’s probably what spouses always say, ‘When will I ever be first?’ And then now she’s first.”

Randall Wallace directed the 2002 major motion picture “We Were Soldiers.” He got to know Hal and Julia Moore and what Greg and David say about their mother resonates.

“I have all sorts of emotional reactions to that,” Wallace said. “Julie is the epitome of love and courage and faithfulness. I would also say, though, I think the one who can say the most about that would be Hal. Hal adored Julie, and thought of her all of his life. And one of the last things Hal ever said to me was, I miss my wife. I can’t wait to see her again.”

Wallace is the one who turned Hal Moore and Joe Galloway’s book “We Were Soldiers Once … and Young” into a movie starring Mel Gibson.

I interviewed him on Zoom last night from California. He plans to be here tomorrow.

He told a funny story about Gibson and Julia Moore.

“I saw Julie grab Mel Gibson by the elbow and shove his shoulder up under his ear like your mom would do when he misbehaved at church or something and say, Now, ‘You listen to me,’ Wallace said. “‘These men are counting on you and you’re going to do this, right?’ And he was like, ‘Yes, ma’am. Yes, ma’am.’ So, there was nothing weak about Julie, but her tenderness was endless.”