Having seen the sacrifices made by service members and their families from practically every angle, Veterans Day carries a special significance for Lenora Abu Sweilem.
Raised by a retired soldier, she and her three siblings all went on to serve — one brother in the Marines, another in the Navy and a sister in the Air Force. Then, after her own four-year enlistment in the Marines, she spent the next 12 years as a military spouse.
“It was just a tradition of service for our family,” said Abu Sweilem, who was a supply and logistics specialist in the Marines and is now the assistant director of IT with Duke Administration Services Management.
“It was a pathway for many people in my family. It seemed exciting, not only the service part of it but just being able to see different things and go different places.”
On Friday, Nov. 10, Duke will honor the service of all U.S. military veterans during the annual Veterans Day Ceremony in Duke University Chapel.
The university community is home to 2,237 staff and faculty who identify as veterans, and 770 students with military affiliations.
The event, beginning at 11 a.m., will feature guest speaker Joel Miles, an Air Force veteran and the owner of Durham’s Flying Bull Beer Company.
Vice President for Duke Human Resources Antwan Lofton will be joined by Paul Dillon, an Army Reserve veteran and adjunct instructor from the Sanford School of Public Policy, for the ceremony’s wreath laying.