O'Connor joined a couple hundred other community members, students and staff on Duke Plaza, adjacent to Duke Chapel, to remember the victims of the attacks. It was one of several memorials held in the area Monday, on the fifth anniversary of the infamous attacks on the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and United Flight 93 in Shanksville, Pa., en route to Washington, that claimed almost 3,000 lives .

The 8 p.m. service, arranged by the Duke Student 9.11 Memorial Commission, an alliance of student organizations, included "The Star-Spangled Banner" and several speakers.

"There's something paradoxical about a Sept. 11 memorial service," said Stephen Miller, chairman of the commission. "It's a very sad time ... but it's uplifting as we think about all the heroes, all the sacrifices."

The commission also placed 2,997 small flags on the lawn of Duke Chapel to remember the victims, and set up a visual display of the attacks in the Bryan Center.

Durham City Councilman Mike Woodard recalled he was in his office at Duke, rushing to meet a deadline, when the attacks occurred. "Sept. 11 has joined July 4 as a day that needs no further explanation," Woodard said during the memorial service. "This evening is a time to put aside partisan rancor and ideological debate. Instead, let's think about, pray for and cherish the innocent victims."

Before the service began, Duke junior Steve Worrell said he remembered feeling detached when he first learned of the attack. "We all just seemed so removed until we heard one girl got up and left as soon as she heard because she thought her dad was in one of the towers," said Worrell, 20. "We found out later he stepped out and was not there."

Captain Sean Boone of the Durham Fire Department spoke about the courage of the New York City firefighters and how they will never be forgotten.

The Fire Departments Honor Guard was on hand and rang a bell to honor the firefighters that were killed on 9-11.

Earlier in the day, a small crowd gathered at a plaque installed in the Keohane Memorial Grove for a short service to honor the memories of those lost. Duke alumni Rob Lenoir, Peter Ortale, Mike Taylor, Christopher Pittman and Todd Rancke all worked in the World Trade Center. Frederick Rimmele -- a doctor on his way to a medical conference -- was one of the 59 people aboard United Airlines Flight 175, which struck the center's south tower. The Duke Chapel bells sounded to mark the times on 9/11 at which each of the four hijacked planes crashed and when each World Trade Center tower collapsed, then later chimed at 11 a.m. for each lost alumnus. Chapel Dean Sam Wells said the 9/11 terrorists had reached a state "where they can only see from a distance, the sort of distance where you can't see anyone face to face." To banish that distance, Wells called for the university to renew its commitment to focus on "the details that matter." Earlier, Duke President Richard Brodhead said the response to terrorism should be the reinforcement of realities made from the values to which the university subscribes: freedom of belief and expression, protection of individual rights, openness to other points of view and mutual respect. "We can't allow ourselves to be defined by fear," he said.