We still name our helicopter gunships after victims of genocide

[pinboy3niner]

95. A U.S. Infantry regiment got permission from Geronimo's descendants to use his name and likeness

During WWII the 101st Airborne Division's 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment sought the permission and began using a profile of Geronimo with lightning bolts on its patch. For its regimental crest, the 501st adopted the image of a stylized thunderbird above the 'Geronimo' motto:



The regiment's troops were known as "the Geronimos," something that continued through the VN War and probably to this day (even though the two 501st battalions that remained with the 101st in VN were deactivated after that war, then reactivated for GWOT as part of a different unit.

I've seen reports of tribal leaders participating in the dedicaion ceremonies for helicopters that use tribal names. The names also have to get a lot of approvals, including from the U.S. Patent Office, before adoption:

THE GENERAL policy of naming Army aircraft after Indians tribes, chiefs or terms was made official by authority of Army Regulation (AR) 70-28, dated 4 April 1969. The names were authorized for use in public releases and other documents as a ready reference. The Indian names chosen were very popular among Army personnel for many years.

The Commanding General (CG) of the U.S. Army Aviation Missile Command (AMCOM), located at Redstone Arsenal, near Huntsville, Alabama, had the responsibility of initiating action to select a popular name for an Army aircraft. For this purpose, the CG maintained a list of possible names obtained from the Bureau of Indian Affairs. For brevity the names usually consisted of only one word. When a new aircraft reached the production stage, or immediately before it went into production, the CG selected five possible names. The selection decision was based on the sound, the history, and the relationship of the name to the mission of the aircraft.

The names chosen had to appeal to the imagination, without sacrificing dignity, and suggest an aggressive spirit and confidence in the capabilities of the aircraft. They also had to suggest mobility, firepower and endurance. The chosen names were sent to the Trade Mark (™) Division of the U.S. Patent Office to determine if there was any legal objection to their use.

...


After approval by the Patent Office, the five names were sent to the Chief of Research and Development, Department of the Army, with a short justification for each. From these five, the Chief of Research and Development would select one.


The approved name then went to the Aeronautical Systems Division, Directorate of Engineering Standards, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio. This Department of Defense unit had the responsibility of officially registering the names of all aircraft used by the U.S. military. It also maintained and printed a list of the names in a publication entitled "Model Designation of Military Aircraft, Rockets and Guided Missiles."


http://www.chinook-helicopter.com/origins/origins.html