A Salute to Service: Moments from Duke's Veterans Day Ceremony ...
Lt. Col. Adam Wachob, Visiting Professor in the Department of Army Military Science, did not come alone to Duke’s 2024 Veterans Day ceremony in Duke University Chapel.
Sitting alongside him on Monday were his wife, Kristen, and their six sons, ranging in age from 13 to nearly one.
“This is not their first military ceremony that they’ve been to,” Wachob said. “They’ve been to a lot, and that’s on purpose to show them the value of service and the connectedness of their community.”
Duke University and Duke University Health System is home to 2,304 staff and faculty who served, or are serving, in the military. There are roughly 880 students at Duke University with military affiliations.
Each year on Veterans Day, Duke honors all who have served with a ceremony filled with music - this year, from the John Brown Ensemble, and reflections from Duke leaders.
The public event featured guest speaker John Dailey, Duke Chief of Police and Associate Vice President for Public Safety, who served as a captain in the United States Army for six years, as well as remarks from Duke University President Vincent E. Price, Vice President for Duke Human Resources Antwan Lofton, and Duke University Chapel Dean and Professor of Homiletics and African and African American Studies Luke A. Powery.
“We’re very grateful for the many veterans among our students, staff, faculty and alumni who have served in every conflict dating back to the World Wars,” Price told the audience in Duke University Chapel. “And we’re extremely proud to call them members of the Duke community.”
Monday’s Veterans Day ceremony featured a joint color guard made up of representatives from Duke’s Air Force, Army and Navy ROTC programs.
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In his remarks, Duke Vice President for Human Resources Antwan Lofton, said that the spirit of selflessness and service forged in the military often endure, enriching communities veterans become part of later.
“For those that have served, word like honor, sacrifice, courage and respect are more than a description of institutional values,” Lofton said. “Because values are only words until they live in your bones, as they do for veterans long after their days of wearing a uniform.”
The crowd in the Chapel heard Duke University Chapel Dean and Professor of Homiletics and African and African American Studies Luke A. Powery offer a prayer for those who served.
“May they feel honored today and every day, may they not feel forgotten or ignored,” Powery said. “May experience the gratitude of the nation, and from those of us who gather here today to celebrate contributions to the world.”
The keynote speaker at Monday’s ceremony was Duke University Police Chief John Dailey, who served as a captain in the Army for six years.
In sharing stories from his service, Dailey spoke of how the major undertakings accomplished by the military are all reliant on individual members coming together as a team.
“Veterans out there all have similar stories,” Dailey said. “They attended to the wounded, made sure communication equipment worked, trained teams, maintained jets, maintained helicopters and flew them, served on ships, developed plans, patrolled, participated in missions around the world. While today, we honored the veteran, the veteran remembers the team around them. Brothers and sisters, depending on each other and interconnected, various teams supporting their part of the overall mission.”
Duke University President Vincent E. Price, right, and Dailey, left, helped lead the post-ceremony procession to Duke’s memorial to those lost while serving.
During the ceremony, Price spoke about the close relationship Duke has had with the military and veterans.
He mentioned how, during World War II, Dr. Wilburt C. Davison, then the Dean of the Duke University School of Medicine, had the idea of using health professionals with a connection to Duke to form an Army hospital unit. The idea became reality in the 65th General Hospital Unit that cared for soldiers in England during the war.
Price also mentioned the creation of the first Physician Assistant Program, which happened at Duke in 1965, giving former caregivers from the military a chance to continue their health care careers.
“Just as those veterans who worked and studied at Duke have played such a critical role in our past, our current community of veterans have an extremely important role shaping our future,” Price said.
Attendees gathered in the courtyard next to the chapel, near the memorial honoring Duke’s veterans, listening members of the John Brown Jazz Ensemble play solemn music to honor those who lost their lives in service.
Among them were three members of Duke University Hospital’s Clinical Engineering team, each one an Army veteran.
“It means a lot for us,” said Biomedical Equipment Specialist Gonzalo Arnillas Luque, who is serves in the Army Reserves as a Staff Sergeant.
Joining Luque were Biomedical Engineering Specialist Re Brown, who served as a Corporal, and Biomedical Equipment Technician Olufemi Akinsiku, who served as a Specialist.
“It brings back memories of serving your country,” Akinsiku said.
“It reminds you of your ‘Why,’” Brown said of the event. “It also reminds you that you served alongside people that are no longer with us.”
From left to right, Sanford School of Public Policy Adjunct Professor and veteran of the Vietnam War Paul Dillon, Duke Vice President for Alumni Engagement and Development Dave Kennedy and Duke Vice President for Human Resources Antwan Lofton place a wreath on Duke’s memorial for alumni who lost their lives in military service.
Lt. Col. Adam Wachob, right, and his family, greeted Duke University President Vincent E. Price, left.
Wachob said he enjoyed the ceremony, which he said spoke to the deep bonds the institution has with the military.
“One of the joys of the job here at Duke is the connectedness with the military community,” Wachob said. “You probably wouldn’t catch that off of the Duke brand name, but Duke’s connections with its veterans internally and its students, with the special operations community and the Fort Liberty community, and with policy makers and decision makers at the national level is second to none. It has been an absolute joy and part of the richness of the job here at Duke to be connected with other service members and folks in our community.”
Watch a recording of the Nov. 11, 2024, ceremony:
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