Duke in Pics: Veterans Day Ceremony
Duke community members and visitors gather Wednesday for commemoration
About 100 members of the Duke community and local veterans gathered Wednesday to take part in Duke's annual commemoration service for Veterans Day.
Sponsored by Duke Human Resources, the event featured a speech Retired Brig. Gen. Stephen R. Smith, chief human resources officer for Duke Medicine and an Army veteran. Seen above, Smith spoke to the crowd about his service of 27 years and that of millions of other veterans. He encouraged attendees to stop and reflect on the willingness of service members to put themselves in harm’s way and dedicate themselves to something greater than their own lives and families.
“Appreciate those who wear the uniform of the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard and their loved ones,” he said. “Smile at them and thank them, not only for their service, but also their sacrifice.”
Smith, who entered the Army in 1971 as an ROTC graduate at the University of Nebraska, held active duty assignments as commander of the 18th Personnel Group for the XVIII Airborne Corps at Fort Bragg; director of personnel for Joint Task Force Operation Restore Democracy in Haiti; the 58th adjutant general of the Army; director of enlisted management; and deputy commanding general of the United States Army Recruiting Command.
Below, Sterly Wilder, associate vice president for alumni affairs, walks with a wreath to be placed at Duke’s Memorial Wall alongside Duke Divinity School. Wilder is trailed from left by Army Chaplain Eric Dean, Lt. Alexander Dworjan, a graduate student and member of Duke’s Naval ROTC, Retired Maj. Gen. Charles J. Dunlap, professor of the practice of law at Duke Law School, and Marine Capt. Ben Hu, a student at the Fuqua School of Business.
To see more images from this year's Veterans Day event, visit the Working@Duke Facebook page.
