Memorial to Northwestern's Military Dead

To recognize the service and sacrifice of Northwestern alumni, faculty and staff who died while serving in the United States military, Northwestern has installed a monument in the Alice Millar Chapel listing their names.  Staff members of the University Archives have established a roster of those known to have died while in service.  Current criteria for inclusion on the roster are:

• matriculation to a degree-granting school or college of the University or, in the case of faculty and staff,
  
• temporary release from University employment for service in the military, and
  
• active duty service in the military at the time of death.  Actual cause of death is not a criterion.

The University's roster of military dead has been compiled from a variety of sources:  the records of Northwestern administrators, especially those of former President Franklyn B. Snyder; previously assembled lists of Northwestern dead from the Civil War and the First and Second World Wars; obituaries published in the Northwestern University Alumni News, the Syllabus, the Daily Northwestern; obituaries and news reports  from Chicago metropolitan newspapers; and from general histories of the University.

Available information can be very limited and incomplete.  When names, dates of death, or details of military service have been called into question, attempts have been made to reconcile accounts.  Most commonly used to verify or supplement our information have been alumni biographical files created by the University and maintained by the University Archives.  In many instances University records have been compared against casualty rosters compiled by the U.S. War Department and the Department of Defense and made available through the National Archives and Records Administration.

NOTE: Despite our best efforts to assemble and verify extant records pertaining to military deaths, we recognize that the information now held may include errors in name, military rank, or date of death.  We suspect that some names may be omitted entirely.  We regret any such errors and omissions and request your help in making our records as complete and accurate as possible.  Please send corrections and additions to: