Essay Winner-Kelley

369.1020

(or)

info@hiers-baxley.net

First Place Winner in the Middle School Division winning a $1,000 US Savings Bond

was….

Jennifer Kelley!

CONGRATULATIONS JENNIFER!

Read Jennifer’s prize winning essay below...

“MAN DOWN!” “MAN DOWN!” A fellow soldier dragging you off the battle field through the fire and thick smoke, you have been injured. They won’t give up this fight. Memorial Day is a day to honor those who bravely fought for our country and died trying. To me, Memorial Day means honoring those who were killed in the war, it means visiting the graves of your loved ones and giving thanks to the ones who made it back safely.

To begin, I think Memorial Day is a day to honor the brave soldiers who fought for our country and died. Every day that goes by I think of where I would be without our soldiers. Without our soldiers we would have foreign countries invading the United States from around the world. We wouldn’t know what to do without our soldiers. “I saw children without families when I was in the war” (McManus). If we didn’t have soldiers then that could be us, without families. That’s why our soldiers deserve to be honored for everything they’ve done for us.

In addition, I think Memorial Day means visiting the graves of your loved ones. It is sad to see someone who has lost a family member or friend that died in the war. To remember them they could go visit their grave every year on Memorial Day. If I had a family member or a friend that died in the war I would go visit them all the time. Mr. Lee lost a friend in the war, but even though he may or may not visit his grave he still probably thinks about him (Lee). This is why I believe this is an important part of Memorial Day.

Furthermore, I think Memorial Day means giving thanks to the soldiers who fought in the war and made it back safely. The soldiers that made it home are lucky to be a part of the war and be okay when they come home. They get to come back home to their families when some soldiers don’t get to. For the ones who didn’t make it back safely we wear the red poppy to honor them (Merchant). I think the soldiers who did make it back okay are so thankful to be alive today. We should also thank them for fighting for our country. This is another reason I think is important to Memorial Day.

As stated above, Memorial Day is very important to me. Memorial Day means to me, honoring the soldiers who fought in the war for us and our country and died, it means visiting the graves of our family members or friends that passed away in the war, and giving thanks to the soldiers who made it back home safely. Being an American and being free means the world to me. I am so thankful to the men and women than fought for us and our country. Thank you and God bless!

-Jennifer Kelley