By The Epoch Times | Created at 2026-08-10 21:11:52 | Updated at 2026-08-10 21:36:50
38 minutes ago
CHARLESTON, S.C.—The U.S. military renamed Joint Base Charleston to Joint Base Lindsey Graham on Aug. 10, in honor of the late Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), who died last month.
“Senator Lindsey Graham dedicated his life to serving this state and serving the armed forces of the United States. He served this nation both in uniform and in both houses of Congress, as everyone here knows,” Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said in an address during the renaming ceremony.
“But in both capacities, it was always the same mission. He knew the timeless truth that to ensure peace, we must be prepared for war.”
Lindsey Graham served for 33 years in the U.S. Air Force, the South Carolina Air National Guard, and the Air Force Reserves, and retired from the Air Force Reserves at the rank of colonel in June 2015. He held a seat in the House of Representatives from 1995 until he won his Senate seat and assumed the office in 2003.
During his speech on Aug. 10, Hegseth urged Congress to honor Graham by approving the Trump administration’s $1.5 trillion defense budget request. He said Graham described the request as the “best military budget” he had seen during his time in Congress.
“This department pays tribute to Lindsey Graham in the naming of this base, but there could be no greater tribute [that] Congress could give than to invest in our warriors for the full 1.5 trillion dollars,” Hegseth said.
Sen. Darline Graham Nordone (R-S.C.), the sister of the late senator who has since filled his Senate seat, also attended the renaming ceremony.
Reflecting on her brother’s service in both the military and Congress, Graham Nordone said, “It was sometimes hard to tell if Lindsey was a senator who happened to serve in the Air Force, or an Air Force lawyer who happened to serve in the Senate. Such was his love for both.”
“That’s the man this base is named after—a man who loved his country, loved his state, and loved the United States Air Force,” she said during Monday’s ceremony. “I could not be more honored or humbled for him to be recognized in such a fashion for his lifetime of service.”
South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent were also in attendance.
McMaster described Graham as an example of patriotism, humility, determination, and loyalty. The governor said it was “most fitting” that the South Carolina base was being renamed after the late senator.
“Few men have traveled greater distances without ever leaving home behind, and across both of his callings and his life, be it the Air Force, Congress, on a base in Afghanistan, or on the floor of the Senate, he devoted himself to the same great purpose of serving a cause greater than self,” Bessent said during the ceremony.
Joint Base Lindsey Graham, formerly Joint Base Charleston, hosts about 90,000 Airmen, Sailors, Soldiers, Marines, Coast Guardsmen, civilian employees, and their family members. The installation supports logistics and airlift operations, and trains the Navy’s nuclear power operators.
The renaming ceremony came a day before South Carolina is set to hold a special Republican Senate primary. Graham Nordone, who has President Donald Trump’s endorsement, is up against Reps. Russell Fry and Ralph Norman, former Gov. Mark Sanford, business owner Mark Lynch, and attorney Duke Buckner.
If none of them wins a majority on Aug. 11, the top two candidates will head to a runoff on Aug. 25. The winner will then face Democratic Senate nominee Annie Andrews in the general election in November.
In addition to the renaming of the South Carolina base, the Senate passed the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026 in an 86–11 vote on Aug. 7 in honor of the late senator. The bill, which would impose new sanctions on Russia and extend sanctions on Iran, was initially introduced by Graham in April 2025.
“This legislation was deeply important to my brother, Lindsey, and I’m grateful that this bill has achieved such a wide coalition of support,” Graham Nordone said on X after the Senate voted to pass the Russia and Iran sanctions bill.
“He believed this was the most consequential piece of legislation that he had ever led, and I am proud to have carried the torch to the finish line.”
