Duke Marks Fifth Anniversary of September 11 Attacks

On a beautiful September morning reminiscent of one five years earlier, the Duke University community paused on Monday to remember the terrorist attacks that changed lives across the campus and the world.

Speaking at an outdoor memorial service in Keohane Quad, President Richard H. Brodhead called on people to recommit themselves to freedom, respect and other values that must underlie a university and stand in contrast to those of the terrorists.

"We need to pay attention to these things unless we want to subject ourselves and those we love to these things again," Brodhead said to about 50 students, faculty, staff and others gathered beside the trees planted in memory of the six Duke alumni killed during the 2001 attacks.

The attacks "came out of the clear blue sky, in a double sense," Brodhead recalled, and they affected people with real lives and families rather than being mere political statements.

Dean of Duke Chapel Sam Wells sounded a similar theme in his opening remarks. Unlike terrorists who prefer to view their actions in abstract terms, he said, people must embrace the humanity of others whose lives they touch.

Following a moment of silence, Brodhead placed a wreath atop a commemorative plaque beside the trees.

Earlier, the Duke Chapel carillon chimed six times during the morning to commemorate the exact times when the four planes crashed and the two towers collapsed.