Northport Principal Glenn Rustay and Northport Media Specialist Lynne Gruszka proudly accept one of the most valuable gifts that a military hero can bestow, the Purple Heart.
Dr. Miles J. Gill Jr., a local Vietnam Veteran and paratrooper has dedicated his father’s Purple Heart to the children of Northport K-8 School. The Purple Heart was earned by Sgt. Miles J. Gill Sr., 1 Company, 311 Infantry, 78 Division at the Field Hospital in Germany during World War II. The Purple Heart was pinned to Sgt. Gill’s chest in his hospital bed in January of 1945. Dr. Gill is one of the Veteran Partners In Education that frequently visits Northport. He dearly wants to help educate the students about the military and heroism and what it takes to help make America the greatest country on the face of the Earth.
Dr. Gill’s gift of his own father’s Purple Heart brought special thankfulness and gratitude for all that each and every educator at Northport represents; patriotism, Americanism, service, gratitude, empathy and teaching our students civic responsibility. We have incorporated a thriving Veterans Partners In Education program at Northport that has been getting stronger and stronger since 2006 and veteran faces and uniforms are visible nearly every day somewhere in the school. Thank you, Dr. Gill, for the remarkable gift of your father’s World War II Purple Heart. We promise to teach the children to the best of our ability with top-notch lessons on all the important things that really matter.
