Spots H.S. in recent conflicts
History Club honors 13 from
FARRAH MAFFAI staff Some 13 Spotswood High School alumni, who graduated between 1989 and last June, are recognized on the Wall of Honor for their involvement in the military conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Spots H.S. in recent conflicts
BY VINCENT TODARO
Staff Writer
SPOTSWOOD — A group of students at Spotswood High School wants to ensure that those serving in recent military conflicts receive the recognition they deserve.
FARRAH MAFFAI staff Mutal and Mohsi Munem and Shane Rebele (l-r) helped create the Wall of Honor.
The students recently completed a Wall of Honor at the school to pay tribute to these local military men and women.
The Spotswood High School History Club, under adviser Frank Yusko, created the wall to honor the 13 borough residents who have served or are serving in Afghanistan or Iraq. Yusko said that several recent graduates of the school are among those currently serving in the war-torn countries.
The Wall of Honor features 4-by-6-inch plates, each with the name of a Spotswood resident and their high school class. The plates are on a wall that students painted light blue so that the dark blue plates would stand out.
"My History Club officers and I were talking in the beginning of the year, [and] we wanted to do something to draw [attention] to the fact that we had 13 residents serving in Afghanistan and Iraq," Yusko said.
"We first thought of a mural, but then thought of a wall on a section by the offices where we could place the plates," he said.
The 13 service members are Mike Ledbetter, 1989; Justin Legg, 1996; Ray Remus, 1997; Culley Lewis, 1997; Nelson Alvarez, 1997; Tom Calise, 1999; Jason Gross, 2000; Megan Bara, 2001; Christina Lopez, 2001; Ryan Weimer, 2001; Bezan F. Morris, 1995; Murzban Morris, 1991; and Ryan Saccone-Uzunis, 2003.
Shane Rebele, a high school senior in the History Club, said the Wall of Honor is to thank the men and women in battle.
"It’s pretty much all about them now until they come home," he said.
Club members and brothers Mohsi and Mutal Munem agreed the wall is meant to show the troops that their hometown supports them.
"We all wanted to wish them good luck and to come home quickly," he said.
Yusko said the History Club, which has about 50 students including those from all four high school grades, received help from the school’s graphic arts department, which made the plates.
Yusko said he has a special connection with men and women serving — all but one of the 13 were students of his when they attended high school. In fact, he said that most were also members of the History Club, and one was even president.
The earliest graduate of the group is Mike Ledbetter, class of 1989. Ledbetter is a career military man and recently came back to visit Spotswood and the high school, Yusko said. He is now back in Iraq.
Two of the other people serving are brothers Bezan and Murzban Morris.
"These are our own. These are Spotswood students," Yusko said of those honored on the wall. "They have been involved in an important event, and one of the [purposes] for the History Club is to honor and support our veterans."
He said that, to his knowledge, none of the Spotswood graduates have been wounded during their tours of duty.
He also showed a letter he received from one of the former students, and noted that others have also written to their former high school teachers from overseas.
"But most have not had an opportunity to visit and are still over there," Yusko said.
He said the school is hoping to have some of the former students come back for a ceremony.
"But," he noted, "the events of history have to unfold before they can make those plans."