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History of the Memorial

Four service members standing at parade rest next to represented service cenotaph at old EOD Memorial in Indian Head, MD.

On 14 February 1969, the EOD Memorial Committee was formed and consisted of the senior Army, Navy, Marine Corps, and Air Force officers of the EOD School. The Committee’s intent was to design and have a memorial constructed at the Navy EOD School to honor those EOD men and women who gave their lives in the performance of duty.

Drawings of the proposed memorial were made and a $1,500 construction estimate was obtained. Land on the Naval Ordnance Station, Indian Head, Maryland, (now Indian Head Division, Naval Surface Warfare Center, Indian Head, Maryland) was donated for this purpose and construction commenced immediately. The basic structure consists of four white cenotaphs, one for each branch of service. Attached to each cenotaph is a bronze tablet with the inscribed names. The Memorial became a reality through the efforts of volunteer EOD personnel.

In 1999, after consolidation of the EOD School from Indian Head to Eglin Air Force Base in Florida, a new Memorial was constructed and now stands across from the main EOD School building on Range Road.

Men and women whose names are placed on the memorial must be graduates of an approved EOD School who have died on active duty as a result of an EOD mission since the declaration of World War II.

View a slideshow of the original Memorial construction in Indian Head, Maryland.