2015-2016 PATRIOT’S PEN 1ST-PLACE WINNER


SHANE STAFFORD Sponsored by Post and Auxiliary 10468 Searchlight, Nevada


What Freedom Means to Me Robert Green Ingersoll once said,


“What light is to the eyes, what air is to the lungs, what love is to


the heart, liberty is to the soul of man.” Each soul needs a morsel of IUHHGRP WR IXOÀ OO LWV SRWHQWLDO -XVW OLNH HYHU\RQH HOVH IUHHGRP LV LPSRUWDQW WR P\ well-being. My life would be very different


without the freedom I have today. I feel that education runs on freedom. I have lived on three different continents and H[SHULHQFHG PDQ\ GLIIHUHQW YHUVLRQV RI IUHHGRP and education. Almost half of the children of the world do not get schooling, and if they do it is at a


YHU\ KLJK SULFH , IHHO YHU\ OXFN\ WKDW , DP DQ $PHULFDQ citizen and have the chance to learn in such a great school. ,Q GLIIHUHQW FRXQWULHV P\ HGXFDWLRQ RFFXSDWLRQ DQG


recreation choices could be limited. Many countries WRGD\ KDYH Á HHLQJ FLWL]HQV ZH LQ $PHULFD DUH OXFN\ DQG KDYH QRWKLQJ WR UXQ IURP $ YHU\ LPSRUWDQW ULJKW LV WKH ability to move about freely, without restrictions. )UHHGRP DIIHFWV HYHU\ SDUW RI P\ OLIH IURP VFKRROLQJ


DQG FDUHHUV WR IULHQGVKLSV 7R PH IUHHGRP LV OLNH D huge room. If my freedoms were decreased, my room ZRXOG VKULQN XQWLO , KDG QR ULJKWV 0\ VSLULW ZRXOG QRW only lose its liberty, I would lose all the air for my lungs to function, and all the light for my eyes to see.


2015-2016 VOICE OF DEMOCRACY 1ST-PLACE WINNER


GRAYSON CAMPBELL Sponsored by Post and Auxiliary 10555 Panama City Beach, Florida


My Vision For America


In 1997 I became an American. I was born into freedom DQG , KDYH EHHQ DIIRUGHG ULJKWV DQG RSSRUWXQLWLHV WKDW VR PDQ\ DURXQG WKH ZRUOG ZLOO QHYHU H[SHULHQFH :KDW I wasn’t born with was the heart of an American. My SDWULRW·V KHDUW MRXUQH\ EHJDQ PDQ\ \HDUV DJR ZKHQ , was a middle school student attending a Veterans Day ceremony. During the ceremonial march of the color guard DQG SUHVHQWDWLRQ RI WKH $PHULFDQ )ODJ , QRWLFHG DQ HOGHUO\ JHQWOHPDQ LQ SDUWLDO XQLIRUP VHDWHG GLUHFWO\ LQ IURQW RI PH VWUXJJOLQJ WR JHW XS RQ KLV IHHW IURP KLV ZKHHOFKDLU $ younger woman next to him assisted the frail gentleman WR VWDQG DQG ZKHQ KH VWUDLJKWHQHG XS KH WRRN RII KLV YHWHUDQ·V FDS DQG SODFHG KLV KDQG RYHU KLV KHDUW , ZLOO never forget that man, as he became the model of what I ZLVK ZH ZRXOG DOO KDYH D SDWULRW·V KHDUW My vision for America is that each citizen of this RXWVWDQGLQJ QDWLRQ ZLOO KDYH D SDWULRW·V KHDUW )RU D


SDWULRW·V KHDUW NQRZV DQG DSSUHFLDWHV RXU KLVWRU\ DQG ZLOO never want to forget how we got here or whose shoulders ZH VWDQG RQ $ SDWULRW·V KHDUW ORYHV WKLV FRXQWU\ GHIHQGV LWV OLEHUW\ VHHNV WKH JUHDWHU JRRG DQG ZLOO QHYHU DOORZ RXU *RG JLYHQ LQDOLHQDEOH ULJKWV WR EH UHVWULFWHG $ SDWULRW·V KHDUW UHDOL]HV WKH VDFULÀ FHV WKDW LW WRRN WR PDNH RXU QDWLRQ great, and will never allow those who have defended IUHHGRP WR EH IRUJRWWHQ 6R D SDWULRW·V KHDUW UHYHUHV DQG salutes our veterans. :KHQ , WKLQN RI GXW\ KRQRU DQG FRXQWU\ , DP UHPLQGHG


once again of that gentleman in front of me at that Veterans 'D\ FHUHPRQ\ ZKR GHPRQVWUDWHG D WUXH SDWULRW·V KHDUW 7KDW LV ZK\ P\ YLVLRQ IRU $PHULFD LV WKDW HDFK FLWL]HQ RI WKLV JUHDW QDWLRQ ZLOO KDYH D SDWULRW·V KHDUW EHFDXVH WKHQ MXVW OLNH LQ JHQHUDWLRQV SDVW ZH ZLOO EH DEOH WR RYHUFRPH any struggle.


The excerpts above were taken from the students’ original entries, which can be read in their entirety at vfw.org/youth/.


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