School for Personnel Services Tablet

During World War II, Washington and Lee University became the home of the United States Army School for Personnel Services, which occupied University facilities from December 6, 1942, through January 31, 1946. The Army's arrival transformed campus life, as classrooms, dormitories, and other facilities were adapted for military instruction and administration. The School trained personnel for specialized duties in the expanding wartime Army, while Washington and Lee continued to educate a reduced civilian student body. Over the course of the war, the School's mission and organization evolved, eventually encompassing training in personnel administration and related military services. More than 22,000 military personnel received training at Washington and Lee, making the University an important contributor to the nation's wartime mobilization.

On April 18, 1946, Colonel W. H. Quarterman, commandant of the Army School for Personnel Services, presented a commemorative plaque to Washington and Lee during a special assembly in Lee Chapel. The tablet, presented in the names of Quarterman and Major General Joe N. Dalton, Director of Personnel, recognized the University's contribution to the Army's wartime operations. As reported in the May 1946 Alumni Magazine, Quarterman expressed his desire that the plaque serve as a “perpetual witness of this service to tell others of it in future years.”

University officials removed the plaque alongside other memorials from the Chapel sanctuary in 2021.

THIS TABLET IS PRESENTED BY
THE
SCHOOL FOR PERSONNEL SERVICES
ARMY SERVICE FORCES ~ UNITED STATES ARMY
TO THE
WASHINGTON AND LEE UNIVERSITY
TO COMMEMORATE THE OCCUPATION
OF THE UNIVERSITY’S FACILITIES
FROM 6 DECEMBER 1942 THRU 31 JANUARY 1946
JOE N. DALTON WM H. QUARTERMAN
MAJOR GENERAL, G S C COLONEL, F.A.
DIRECTOR OF PERSONNEL COMMANDANT

On June 4, 2021, the Washington and Lee University Board of Trustees announced plans to rename Lee Chapel and restore its auditorium to an “unadorned design,” physically separating it from the Lee family crypt and memorial sculpture. As part of these changes, university officials removed twenty historical plaques and memorials from the chapel sanctuary.

In a July 21, 2022, update, the university explained that the removed plaques and artifacts had been relocated to other exhibits or placed in temporary storage pending renovations. It further announced that “most of the other plaques will be moved to the galleries in the building or to the new institutional history museum, where they can be displayed with more historical context.” The university has not publicly announced plans for the reinstallation or exhibition of this particular memorial.

The university has not responded to recent TGR inquiries concerning the whereabouts and future exhibition of removed plaques. However, in September 2026 correspondence with The W&L Spectator, Museum Director Matt Davis stated: “Our storage facility is not open to the public, nor do we make a list of our collections inventory available to the public.” He further explained that “the size and weight of some of these artifacts are not conducive to public viewing.” Regarding their future exhibition, Davis wrote: “It is possible that some or all of these artifacts will eventually be incorporated into temporary or permanent exhibits once the new museum is open, and we hope to have online databases and viewing rooms in the future.”

1. https://digitalarchive.wlu.edu/islandora/alumni-magazine-washington-and-lee-university-may-1946

2. Blaine A. Brownell, Washington and Lee University, 1930–2000: Tradition and Transformation (Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 2017), 62–65.

3. https://www.wlu.edu/about-w-l/leadership/board-of-trustees/messages-from-the-board-of-trustees/message-archive-2020-2023/the-future-of-washington-and-lee-university

4. https://columns.wlu.edu/update-on-university-chapel-renovations/