From Mosquito Lake to West Point to the deserts of Kuwait; Kurz learned work ethic from family, teachers

While attending fifth grade at Haines Elementary in 1978, Karl Kurz checked out a book that described the adventures of a West Point graduate.

“I decided then it was the life for me,” said Kurz.

Seven years later, Kurz left Haines for West Point. And this spring he retired from the Army as a lieutenant colonel.

Kurz, son of Bill and Janet Kurz of Haines, was born in New Jersey in 1969. The family moved…