Five years ago today, America witnessed one of the most devastating terrorist attacks in the country's history. Today, the victims of the attack--including six Duke alumni--will be remembered.
A brief alumni memorial will take place at 11 a.m. in Keohane Quadrangle. At 8 p.m. a large student-organized memorial will take place on the West Campus Plaza.
Volunteers planted 2,997 American flags in front of the Chapel--one flag for each of the 2,997 victims. Biographies of the six Duke alumni who died in the attacks will be displayed in the Bryan Center throughout the day.
Volunteers will also be distributing American flag pins to students and community members.
At 8 p.m, the student memorial service will take place and will include the National Anthem performed by the Duke Chorale, Taps performed by the Durham Police Department and remarks made by many prominent community members.
The efforts to organize the memorial were spearheaded by senior Stephen Miller, president of Students for Academic Freedom, executive member of the Duke Conservative Union and a Chronicle columnist. He created the 9/11 Student Memorial Commission in August and began planning for the event.
"I felt that we owed it to the victims... to remember and honor them together," Miller said. "I wanted to create an event to bring the Duke and Durham community together."
Initially, the North Carolina Veterans of Foreign Wars administration gave Miller $1,000, which he said was crucial in beginning the planning.
"It really got the ball rolling," he said.
Miller, a leader in two conservative campus organizations, said his next task was to gain support from the University.
"The administration was supportive but seemed wary of the ideologies of those leading it," he said.
He soon appointed junior Adam Zell as his vice chair, and the two set about recruiting members of the community to help organize the memorial and gain support from a wide cross-section of student groups.
They were met with success, and the memorial was soon sponsored by a variety of campus groups, including the Asian Student Alliance, Black Student Alliance, Duke American Civil Liberties Union, College Republicans, Duke Democrats, Duke Conservative Union, Diya, Hillel, Mi Gente and the Muslim Students Association.
"This is a non-partisan event for all members of the community," Miller said. "We come from all sorts of ideologies and backgrounds, but we come together to respect and mourn our common loss."
Though groups such as ACLU and SAF rarely see eye-to-eye on most political issues, the groups worked together to create this event. Duke ACLU President Daniel Bowes, a senior, sent out a mass e-mail to members of the Duke community asking for volunteers for the memorial services.
"If you have time, please take the time to help out-this is obviously a great cause," Bowes wrote.
After gaining widespread support from various student groups, Miller and Zell received significant financial aid from the administration.
John Burness, senior vice president for public affairs and government relations, confirmed he and Larry Moneta, vice president of student affairs, each gave $2,000 to the memorial project--for a total of $4,000 from the Duke administration--quintupling the funds available.
"We used the normal process to get approval [for funding the event]," Burness said. Moneta is scheduled to give brief remarks at the event, Miller added.
Miller said he was grateful for the additional funds. The Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, of which Zell is an undergraduate fellow, also donated $500.
Miller and Zell also received support from the Durham Fire Department and the Durham Police Department.
DFD Captain William Towner said he was eager to help when contacted by the organizers of the event. "When [Miller and Zell] contacted us, we sat down and told him what we had to offer," Towner said.
He added that the fire department plans to send fire trucks to aid the display, and the DFD Honors Guard will perform a "striking of the bell" ceremony, a tribute to fallen firefighters. Three hundred forty-three New York firefighters died during the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
The DPD Honor Guard will also be performing Taps, a traditional song played on Memorial Day, to honor the fallen.
Durham City Council member Mike Woodard, Trinity '81, who will speak at the event, said he was eager to participate.
"As a Duke graduate, Duke administrator and elected official, this was a chance for me to join in our community tribute to the innocent people who died and the brave emergency responders who died on 9/11," said Woodard, who noted he was not aware of any other similar memorial events occurring in Durham.
Miller said the event was also geared toward commemorating fallen U.S. soldiers.
"In mourning the victims of 9/11, we have to also pay tribute to the soldiers sent into battle from the conflicts engendered by the attacks," Miller said.
To represent the soldiers, Veterans of Foreign Wars state commander Jim Goins is scheduled to speak, along with Lieutenant Colonel Charles Hodges of Duke ROTC.
"Based on the fact that this is a 9/11 memorial event, I told them I would certainly participate," Goins said.
The organizers of today's events said they hope the memorial will bring together the community in remembrance.
"This will be a very emotional event," Miller said. "I hope everyone will join together for it."
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.