Memorial Chapel

In 1942, students at the University of Maryland campus began petitioning for the construction of an inter-denominational, memorial chapel on the College Park campus. The community at large became engaged, and as a result, on October 6, 1952 the university formally dedicated the Memorial Chapel. The chapel honors members of the University of Maryland community who lost their lives while serving in the United States armed forces. No state appropriations were used to build the chapel; support for the construction came from donations and gifts as well as from surplus university income.

Over the years, the chapel has continued to commemorate members of the university community who have lost their lives in the U.S. armed forces. A beautifully bound Roll of Honor, commonly known as the Memorial Book, lists the names of 209 students and alumni who graduated from the university between the years 1919 and 1950 and lost their lives during military service. The chapel's 1952 dedication ceremony included the display of this book. The book remained on display for nearly 50 years before being transferred to the University of Maryland for safe keeping. In addition to the Memorial Book, a Vietnam Memorial was constructed in 1988 on the south side of the chapel. There have been numerous Veterans' day services held at the chapel since it was built. A recent service on November 11, 2004 included a candlelight vigil in memory of those who lost their lives in Afghanistan and Iraq.

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