The Shadow
The Curtis A. Smith Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1033 Auxiliary has announced the winners of its annual Patriot’s Pen essay contest.
The theme for this year’s essay was “What Makes America Great.”
The contest was open to students in grades 6-8 at Jeter-Watson Intermediate School, Covington High School and the Boys Home of Virginia School. There were 23 entries submitted.
The winners were recognized during the Post 1033’s annual Loyalty Day banquet held in early December.
The top three winners were Judity Gravely, JWIS, first place, $100; Merridith Schmeidler, second place, $75; Brayden Wolfe, third place, $50. All three are seventh grade students at JWIS.
Judith’s essay also won first place in District 6 competition, where she received a $200 cash prize. Her essay is now eligible for state competition.
The top three essays are as follows:
Judith Gravely – First Place
I am going to tell you what I think makes America great.
I think America is a great country because we have so many good people. We have people in the navy, army, military, police officers, doctors, teachers, and so many more.
I’m so thankful to have all these people help me. I’m so thankful for everyone in the military, navy, marines, army, and war because my grandpa was in World War II. He passed away when I was 3. He was killed helping fix a tank and it blew up.
Every year I go to this memorial where I was born and his name and others are written on a marble glass thing, and it’s really pretty. It’s like a park and it has their names on it and there’s a bench and stuff and there’s a picture of them.
Another reason I think America is great is because we have so many rights. We can marry who we want, and we can have our own religious rights. We also get to go to school and in other countries girls have to stay home and take care of babies and clean and most girls don’t have a lot of rights but in America we do.
I’m so happy we can go to school and learn so when we get older we can go to college and we can get a good job. When I get older I want to go to college and become a nurse or go into the military and do a job there.
Some more things that makes America great is we have so many opportunities we have the Christmas Mother the churches that give out food, and plenty more one time my mom didn’t have that much money so they helped a lot.
The food pantry is very helpful to I’m so thankful for everything America does.
These were some of the reasons America is great I love America so much and all the people that help make America better. I’m so happy every morning we can look up at the flag and do the Pledge of Allegiance and just take the time to thank America for all the good things America does.
Thank you all so much for everything. I appreciate all of you and everything you have done.
Merridith Schmeidler – Second Place
America is great in several different ways. Here are a few examples of things that make America great.
We have free speech and rights. In other countries if you say something bad about your president, king or queen etc. you can be executed because they don’t have free speech.
You have the freedom to love who you want to in America even the president has the right to be married to whom they want. Your parents can’t marry you off in America. In America we have freedom of religion.
Veterans work very hard to defend our country every day, and I am very thankful for that.
Veterans are very brave. My uncle is in the United States Air Force and my step mom used to be in the military. Veterans are also brave because they are willing to go to battle and risk their lives for our country.
The reason why we get to vote is because of our veterans. We wouldn’t be the great union we are today without our veterans.
America keeps the union safe by putting criminals in jail to keep them from hurting other people and maybe even themselves. We have a very fair court system set up in America. Our police also risk their lives everyday capturing the criminals on the loose, dealing with robberies, and helping with fires, car wrecks, etc.
America provides me an education. I believe that everyone needs a good education to get a job and be successful. If I cannot get a ride to school, the school will provide it for me via bus.
The school provides lunch and breakfast for me everyday. Even if I can not afford it, I can still get free or reduced lunch. You can also get snack packs if you don’t have enough food over the weekend.
School teaches me a lot everyday and gives me a chance to see my friends every day.
America is great in a lot of ways. We have recycling, homeless shelters, women shelters and nursing homes. We have a lot more freedom than other countries do but still have a way to keep our country safe, and I am very grateful for that.
The whole union works very hard every day to keep America going. That is why I love America.
Brayden Wolfe – Third Place
What makes America great is the theme of this essay. I love America!
We are extremely lucky to be able to live here in America. People all around the world wish they could live here, but most don’t have that option. They wish to live here because we are free and have the rights to freedom which many people in other countries do not have.
America has many rights and most that are inalienable. We have ten rights that are some of the main rights we have and are also inalienable called The Bill of Rights. People at first had to fight for these rights way back when.
Another thing I like about America is our education. We can get all the education we need because people in America have built schools all around America which is another reason some people move to America because they couldn’t get a good education.
Another reason people move to America is to get better medical attention because they don’t have many hospitals in their country.
If someone asked me to describe America in one word I would say ‘home.’ I would rather live here than any other country in the world.
What also makes America great is our Constitution and the Declaration of Independence. They let everyone have rights no matter if you’re African America, Indian, Italian, a woman, a man, etc. They all have equal rights no matter what.
We all have rights to freedom, life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness as The Declaration of Independence states.
To me being an American is about embracing the culture and way of life we have here in America which all Americans do and that is what makes America great.
Another thing I like about America is our government system and politics. Anyone who wants to run can run. I also think our government is fair especially the court system with no private trials all trials must be public.
Everyone living in America is very fortunate and lucky to live here in an extremely great country we call America.
Those are some of the reasons why I think America is great and everyone living here is very fortunate. I hope you think America is a great country, too and
a wonderful place to live.
