Gregg’s life of service worthy for base renaming
A former Newport News resident gracefully awaits an honor only George Washington and few others can claim.
Retired Army Lt. Gen. Arthur J. Gregg, who lived here in the 1940s, is scheduled to become the namesake — along with the late Lt. Col. Charity Adams — of what is now Fort Lee.
The renaming — Fort Gregg-Adams is the new moniker — was directed by Congress, seeking to remove from federal properties the names of those who supported the Confederacy.
George Floyd’s death in 2020 precipitated the mandate.
Nine Army installations are slated for renaming. Amongst the namesakes, only Gregg is still alive, as was Washington when he was so honored during the Revolutionary War era.
When Fort Lee is redesignated, Gregg, a former logistician, will stand amidst a rebranding that replaces the name of someone who once owned slaves with those of likely descendants.
The interest surrounding such a rare event strikes a chord of contrast to Gregg himself, who is deflective of attention. When asked to share thoughts about the name-change, the northern Virginia resident has managed no more than a muted “proud” or “honored.”
As a person, Gregg is a throwback — gentlemanly with a strong sense of dignity. His humility is striking — considering he once wore three stars — but his composure is legendary. A colleague said he’s never heard Gregg raise his voice.
Set to turn 95 soon, Gregg walks frequently, still drives and remains active in the logistics community. He also is still sharp. Gregg can recite his boyhood address with ease.
Relocating from rural South Carolina at age 12 following his mother’s death, Gregg followed three brothers here. All were employed as riveters and drillers at Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock Company.
Living with the oldest at 734 25th St., Gregg remembers Sunday drives to Fort Monroe and working two jobs while attending Huntington High School, which he likened to a sanctuary.
“The teachers there were wonderful,” he said. “I felt they were interested in you and what you wanted to do.”
Huntington is where Gregg met best friend Ivan “Sandy” McEachin, father of the late congressman. The two didn’t have much in common — Gregg was a country boy and McEachin, the privileged son of a doctor — but got along well and were equally ambitious.
Outside of Huntington, Gregg found the city vibrant amid its role building ships and hosting troops headed overseas during World War II. He holds dear the images of mostly Black uniformed personnel traveling about the area.
“You just had to admire them,” he said.
Gregg and McEachin enlisted together in 1946, and both endured pains of a segregated Army. Gregg was particularly agitated about being prohibited from entering Fort Lee’s club for officers when he became one in 1950.
Despite conditions marginalizing Blacks, Gregg refused to become embittered or disillusioned and worked hard while hoping for change. Segregation was prohibited in 1948.
Gregg went on to spend a tour in Korea, and later Vietnam, where he led one of the largest battalions there. He made general in 1971, and six years later became the first Black soldier to earn three stars.
In 1981, Gregg retired as the highest-ranking Black in the Army. His retirement ceremony took place at that same Fort Lee club refusing to admit him 32 years prior.
In 2016, the Army cemented his mastery as a logistician, presenting him the inaugural LTG Arthur J. Gregg Sustainment Leadership Award.
All of this from a country boy with ties to the shipbuilding industry here, who is a product of Huntington’s heyday and who was influenced to no end by the military presence that remains an inspiration today.
While Gregg can eventually claim a rare honor, the city can lay claim to his cultivation, and thus, shed light on a list of achievements speaking louder than any words he could utter.