Remember Veteran's Day

A year ago on Veteran's Day, and again six months ago on Memorial Day, we joined in pointing out the University's disrespect of our classmates who served in the Armed Forces, and most particularly those who died for our nation.

We called attention to delinquency at the alumni memorial, where for more than 50 years-through wars in Korea, Vietnam, Kuwait, Iraq and Afghanistan-the University has failed to add the name of anyone who made the supreme sacrifice.

We also pointed out that two additions to the Divinity School were built as close to Duke Chapel as the architect dared, encroaching upon the memorial, leaving it in an air shaft.

We cited lack of patriotic observance on holidays. It is rather incongruous that on Sept. 11, the Alumni Department laid a wreath at the memorial that marks the deaths of six Dukies who happened to be in the World Trade Center, but for Veteran's Day, as always, the University calendar is devoid of any honor for our classmates-as well as faculty and staff-who deliberately went into harm's way.

President Richard Brodhead, Executive Vice President Tallman Trask, Vice President Michael Schoenfeld and Alumni Executive Director Sterly Wilder were given personal notice of this neglect, yet not one of them has had any substantive response to us in a full year. As surely as our classmates in uniform answered the call of duty with bravery, courage and valor, Duke's administrators uniformly bring dishonor to themselves by their dereliction.

Ed Rickards

Trinity '63

Law '66