Duke News Service

DURHAM -- U.S. Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric Shinseki, a Duke graduate, will return to his alma mater for the Duke University Memorial Dedication to honor alumni who have lost their lives in service to America at Duke Chapel at 10 a.m. Friday.

Dedication ceremonies will feature remarks by Shinseki, a 1976 Duke graduate, and Duke President Richard Brodhead.

Duke will dedicate a plaque that will be inscribed with the names of alumni who died in battle during the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Gulf War and the Iraq War, as well as the names of alumni who died in active duty since World War II. A wall in the Memorial Quad, the area between Duke Chapel and the Divinity School, commemorates alumni who died during World War II. The new plaque will also be located in the Memorial Quad.

Shinseki will tour the Durham VA Medical Center to better understand its partnership with Duke University. He will also meet with students who are in the Reserve Officers Training Corps or attending the university under VA-sponsored programs, such as the Post-9/11 GI Bill and Yellow Ribbon Program.