Forest Lake school closes doors to vets, so students go to them

While school officials at Forest Lake Area High School fielded many phone calls Tuesday from people upset with their decision to cancel a visit by touring veterans, more than 100 people greeted the vets at the local American Legion center.

The National Heroes Tour, featuring decorated troops from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan talking about their military experiences, was supposed to address about 150 social studies students at the high school. About 50 students from the high school were excused from classes Tuesday morning to attend the presentation, school officials said later.

Derek Dovolos, 18, a senior who plans to join the Army National Guard after graduating, said: "I knew they were coming to our school, and when I heard that they weren't coming that made me angry. ... I'm here to support our troops and that's all that matters."

Vets for Freedom, a national organization that describes itself as non-partisan and is run by a graduate of Forest Lake Area High School, organized the tour across the country to advocate for completing the missions in Iraq and Afghanistan. But the group's leader said it had agreed not to discuss finishing the missions during the high school appearance.

But Monday afternoon, officials called off the event, after receiving roughly two dozen phone calls and e-mails from people opposed to the visit. Some objectors said they would stage antiwar demonstrations.

The event, according to an announcement posted recently on the school's website, was structured to be an academic classroom discussion around military service. "We thought we'd provide an opportunity for kids to learn about service in the context of our history classes," school leaders said on the website.

Because of the possibility of protesters, Principal Steve Massey said he grew concerned that the event was in danger of becoming a political event instead of an educational experience, and was no longer suitable for a public school.

That's when it was moved to American Legion Post 225 in Forest Lake.

The veterans who spoke were Marine Sgt. Jeremiah Workman, who served as a squad leader in the Battle of Fallujah and received the Navy Cross; Chief Warrant Officer Tom Parks of the Marines, who received the Silver Star; and former Army Staff Sgt. David Bellavia, who received the Bronze Star and Silver Star for valor and is the author of "House to House: An Epic Memoir of War."

Pete Hegseth, the Forest Lake High graduate who is executive director of Vets for Freedom, told the crowd that since the venue was moved off school grounds he no longer felt constrained about talking about "progress in Iraq."

"It's unfortunate circumstances that we're here, but I think our message remains the same: That we believe that the veterans of this conflict, guys who have walked the ground, seen the enemy first hand, understand what's at stake, should have a voice and be a part of the public discourse as it pertains to the war and what's actually happening.

"We weren't going to talk about this at Forest Lake High School but we can talk about this here -- the incredible progress that's been made in Iraq over the last year because of the surge and the counterinsurgency strategy."

Of the people in Iraq, Workman said, "These people know they're up over that hump and they can see the horizon." He added: "People ask me all the time: Do you think we can win the war? I shake my head and say, 'You're damn right we can win this war.' "

Said Bellavia, "What happened with the high school, it's embarrassing. Let's not pull any punches here."

U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Stillwater, also attended the event at the Legion.

Fredrickson said she didn't know the identity of the groups that planned to protest.

An announcement posted on the school's website said: "We have a long history as a public school of recognizing and celebrating what veterans have done for our country, and we are proud to provide that perspective and experience for our students. We originally created a context for the veterans' tour to make a stop here because it would have added to that tradition."

The school's phones were ringing off the hook, mostly from people who disagreed with the school's decision to cancel, Fredrickson said. Some callers said they were from other states.

About a dozen students from the high school sat in the front row at the American Legion and held up signs, saying, "Thanks vets" and "Support our veterans."

Jeanette Hannon, a mother of two junior high students in Forest Lake, said she pulled them out of school to hear the touring vets speak about the war. When she signed them out, she wrote "political education" in the box that asked her to state the reason for her children's absence.

State Rep. Bob Dettmer, a former teacher at Forest Lake Area High School, said he thought the veterans' presentation had educational value. "Students ask questions. We have some experts here who can answer their questions," said Dettmer, R-Forest Lake.

He also acknowledged the pressure the school faced. "I can see their point. They didn't want to have people protest on their school grounds," he said, adding: "We do need to stand up for what is right. The school maybe censored this group and I feel bad about this."

Allie Shah • 651-298-1550