Duke hosted its National Veterans Day Commemoration Ceremony Monday to honor the United States’ military personnel’s service to the country.
“As we gather in Duke Chapel ... we are reminded of the men and women whose military service soared with sacrifice, honor, dedication, courage, purpose and humility,” said Rev. Luke Powery, dean of the Chapel and professor of homiletics and African and African American studies.
As of 2023, over 6% of the American adult population identified as veterans. The Duke community includes 2,304 military veterans and 880 students with military affiliations, according to Antwan Lofton, vice president of human resources.
The Joint Service Color Guard marched into the Chapel bearing U.S. military ceremonial and the American flag at 11 a.m. As they stood before the chancel, the John Brown Ensemble performed the country’s national anthem.
Lofton introduced the keynote speaker John Dailey, Duke chief of police and associate vice president for public safety, who served as a captain in the U.S. Army for six years.
“Regardless of whether their service was in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guards [or the] Space Force, [all] veterans made a decision and took a common oath … [that] is little changed from the 1868 version,” Dailey said. “… An oath not to an individual, but to the Constitution.”
In his speech, Dailey spoke of his personal experiences being stationed in Germany when the Berlin Wall fell, noting that other veterans have similar stories to him regarding their service to the country.
Dailey also shared an anecdote about former Duke football coach Wallace Wade, who returned to coaching after serving in World War II. When asked about his greatest disappointment — Duke’s loss to the University of Southern California in the 1939 Rose Bowl or the loss to Oregon State in the 1942 Durham Rose Bowl — Wade replied that it was neither, instead not being allowed to be among the first Americans to land in Normandy.
“Veterans’ quiet, unselfish service, well and faithfully discharging the duties on behalf of the United States, being prepared to give their lives for others — these are the individuals who we celebrate today,” Dailey said.
President Vincent Price then took the pulpit to honor Duke’s long history of academics engaged in service with the armed forces. During World War II, Wilburt Davison, then-dean of Duke’s School of Medicine, “developed the concept” of the Duke hospital army unit in Suffolk, England, which treated more than 17,000 wounded patients, many of them being front-line casualties.
Price referenced Duke’s mission, as stated in James B. Duke's founding document, noting that “this work is strengthened by the perspective, the experience and the dedication of our veterans.”
After the memorial, a wreath-laying ceremony was held outside the Chapel. A recording of the ceremony can be found on YouTube.
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Tanya Wan is a Trinity first-year and a staff reporter for the news department.