November 2004

Saving a Piece of History

Captain Tara Honey, deputy commandant, Naval District of Washington, presented GW Associate Vice President and Dean of Freshmen Frederic Siegel with a Mount Vernon Seminary Flag at the deconsecrating service for the Navy Chapel at Naval District of Washington on Nebraska Avenue, NW. The chapel was built in 1924 as the Elizabeth Somers Chapel for Mount Vernon Seminary with private donations from Mount Vernon Seminary alumnae. In 1942, the US Navy acquired the chapel and grounds to support the war effort.

The chapel has served as a sacred place of worship and has welcomed thousands of weddings, baptisms, and other ceremonies throughout the years. The Mount Vernon Seminary flag will find a home as a piece of its history on GW’s Mount Vernon Campus.

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