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News
CRYSTAL FALLS/IRON RIVER — Both West Iron County and Forest Park schools have planned programming in honor of Veterans Day on Nov. 10.
Forest Park’s program will be held on Nov. 10 at 9:30 a.m. in the school district’s Eddie Chambers Gymnasium. Student Council President, Lauren Kudwa will be giving a speech about what Veterans Day means to her.
The guest speaker will feature Scott Gussert. Scott was born in Hancock, graduated from Forest Park High School in 1985. He is married and has two grown children. Scott attended Northern Michigan University for two years.
Scott joined the United States Army in 1987 as a Petroleum Supply Specialist. Attended Basic Training at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. Went to schooling at Fort Lee, Virginia and then to a truck driving school at Fort Dix, New Jersey before being deployed to Germany for his permanent duty station.
He was deployed to the European Command and was stationed at the 56th Field Artillery Command Pershing, in Schwaebish Gmund, Germany. Scott was a mechanic, fuel handler and operated the tools/maintenance area of the Charlie Company Firing Battery’s Motor pool. He regularly served on guard duty and protected the intermediate Range Nuclear Missiles held there. He earned the rank of Specialist-Promotable and graduated as the Honor Graduate (similar to the Salutatorian in schools) from the Non Commissioned Officers Academy in Bad Tolz Germany.
In December of 1990, Scott was deployed to Operation Desert Shield in Saudi Arabia with the 7/159th Aviation Battalion out of Stuttgart Germany as the 56th Field Artillery Battalion was being disbanded due to the INF treaty between President Ronald Reagan and the Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev. He served through Operation Desert Storm (the first Gulf War against Iraq) with the 493rd Quartermasters Unit out of Wurzburg Germany from the start of the war until it’s end, and until May 1991 where he returned to Germany and then to the civilian world in America as his enlistment was up.
Scott then joined the National Guard out of Kingsford that fall and served until that unit shut down in late 1992. He moved back to Forest Park in August of 2022 to teach Junior High and High School Industrial Arts (Woodshop).
The senior band will also be performing under the direction of Ms. Julianne Holmes.
The program will end with closing remarks by Senior High School Student Council President Vincent Curtis.
West Iron County School will host its annual Veterans Day breakfast on Friday, Nov. 10 at 8 a.m. with a program to follow at the West Iron County High School.
West Iron’s program will feature guest speaker Jerry Williams, Director of Iron County Veteran Services.
There will be signup sheets at the VFW and the Legion. You can also call the school office at 906-265-5184 to let them know they are coming.
“The student council is looking forward to honoring our veterans this year,” said Kristi Berutti of WIC High School.