Members of the Duke community joined mourners across the country Monday by commemorating the fifth anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks at two on-campus memorial services.
President Richard Brodhead and Dean of the Chapel Sam Wells spoke to approximately 70 alumni, faculty and students at a ceremony at the Keohane Quad Memorial Grove, where six trees were planted in 2002 to honor the six Duke alumni killed by the attacks.
"Peaceable people going about their daily lives can be the objects of atrocious violence and organized malice," Brodhead said at the service, which was sponsored by the Duke Alumni Association.
Brodhead also shared his personal memories of the terrorist attacks. He reflected on the crystal sky and bright sunshine of the fateful morning, emphasizing that he ironically spent the early hours of Sept. 11 thinking it was "a great day to be alive."
Brodhead finished by reading the names of the six alumni victims and placing a wreath on the memorial's plaque.
Click for related content:
The University continued its remembrances at an evening service organized by the Duke Student 9/11 Memorial Commission.
Senior Stephen Miller created the commission--which includes 11 student groups--in August.
"I was so grateful for the opportunity for all of us to come together and pay tribute to our noble and selfless heroes and to honor and remember those many lives that were tragically taken," said Miller, the commission's chair and a Chronicle columnist.
The ceremony featured memorial bells and drums and a performance of the national anthem by the Duke Chorale.
"It was an evening of much solemnity, reflection and sadness, but also so much hope, strength and inspiration," Miller added.
Speakers included Durham City Councilman Mike Woodard, Vice President for Student Affairs Larry Moneta, Durham Fire Department Captain Sean Boon and Jim Goins, the North Carolina state commander of Veterans of Foreign Wars.
Wells concluded the service by noting that the three terms most commonly associated with the terrorist attacks are sacrifice, tragedy and suffering. He encouraged the audience to make the most of an inevitably sorrowful day.
"If it can't be happy, make it beautiful," Wells said.
Miller estimated that 1,000 people were present at the evening memorial. Attendees included students, faculty and local community members who felt close ties to the events of five years ago.
"I saw them go up, and I saw them go down," said Siler City resident and New York native Lynn O'Connor, who was visiting Staten Island the morning the Twin Towers came crashing to the ground.
O'Connor added that she was personally connected to the tragedy because she lost a high school friend in the attacks, and her son spent a year at war in Iraq.
Junior Adam Zell, vice chair of the commission, said the crowd expressed gratitude to those who planned the event.
"They said this is one of the most touching memorials they had ever been to," Zell said. "That's what makes it worthwhile."
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.