On February 14, 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 Naval Surface Warfare Center, Indian Head Division,
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.
Sixty-nine names were placed on the Memorial
during dedication ceremony June 12, 1970 . The names of those who sacrificed now
total 232.