Every year, the local American Legion and guest judges listen to the presentations of Veterans Day essays by Malad Elementary School students and choose the winners from the group of finalists.  The judges noted that this year it was more difficult than ever, as the finalists were all so good.  The written part of the contest has already been judged, to some extent, which is how the finalists were determined.  The presentation itself boiled down to clarity, enthusiasm, respect, and personal investment in celebrating veterans.

This week, we bring you the five essays of the finalists.  Next week, we will bring you the four essays from the winners of the contest.  As the judges noted, the essays were all uniformly excellent in content, and the students all did a fantastic job of presenting their essays.  Rather than simply reading what they had written, each student relied on a great deal of memorization, and movement.  As presenters—let alone elementary kids!—they were each very confident, clear, and professional.  The speakers all had connections to veterans in their own lives, who are detailed in their essays, presented here on this page.

The finalists presented here are Aaliyah Mourra, Colt Price, Parker Lundberg, Paisley Olson, and Whitney Roe.  Next week Ali Hanks, Brittyn Venable, Lacie Palmer, and Saigelyn Cox.

Whittney Roe

Mrs. Blaisdell

I Will Always Remember My Ancestors

I will always remember all my ancestors that were in the military, and the ones that are serving in the military right now. I always appreciate all of the men and women that are fighting right now and the men and women who are training to be in the military. I will also always remember the stories that my grandpa Doyle told me, he served in the Vietnam era, and  I will make sure his legacy will live on forever. He was stationed in Korea on a radio hill, and he was never in one place. I have also listened to stories from Grandpa Russell, I will always remember his story. He fought in Iwo Jima in a far away place, and he was stationed on a boat. He went to Japan where he spent most of his time.  He never knew what was in store, but he bravely served his country in World War II. 

My great grandpa Dean saw much sorrow, he didn’t realize his platoon would never see tomorrow. He felt something in his gut to sleep away from his platoon and sadly everyone died. My grandpa Dean was the only survivor. There is also my cousin EmmaLee, who serves on an aircraft carrier to keep our country free and safe, she is a really great role model. On this veterans day we should  remember all the veterans that fought because they went to war to make our country free. I am so grateful for all my family that served. Thank you so much for fighting. I will always remember and honor you.

Paisley Olson

Mrs. Allen 

I Will Always Remember

I will remember our veterans, not just because two of my grandpas served in the Navy, but for all the brave men and women who sacrificed everything. The bravery and selflessness it took for them to leave all their family loved ones behind to fight for all our freedoms we have today. I am lucky to have a few brave veterans in my life.

First of all, one of the bravest veterans I know is my neighbor, Brent Whitaker. He served our country in the 20th Engineer Brigade of the US Army. Brent was drafted in 1968 and served for 2 years in the Vietnam War. He told me his favorite thing about the Army was basic training. While Brent served he was awarded the Bronze Star Medal. This is the fourth highest military decoration for valor. I am so thankful for his service.

Also, another brave veteran I was so lucky to have had in my life was my grandpa Kieth. He served in the US Navy. He signed up with a group of friends in 1957. Kieth served a full four years during world peace time. He got deployed for a year in Japan, where he was an engine mechanic on the ships. He was honorably discharged in 1961. Keith’s favorite part about the Navy was getting back to shore!!! One story I got to hear about my grandpa’s time in Japan, was that they used to haul out old ships for the Japanese Air Force to practice dropping bombs to sink those old ships. My grandpa said that one time they all were taking cover because the Japanese Air Force were shooting so close to their ship. Another story, and a good example of the personal sacrifice, is the only type of communication that he had with his wife was through letters. My grandma said it would take so long for him to write back, she started putting an extra envelope with her address and stamp already on it to encourage him to write back quicker. Grandma said the letter came a little faster. After all that he did for our country I’m proud of him.

As you can see, these two brave Veterans in my life are a good example of why I will always remember our veterans. They are just two of so many others that fought for our country. I am so thankful to them and all the other veterans that fought for our freedom. In conclusion, I will always remember are veterans and thank you veterans for all you’ve done!!! 

Colt Price

Mrs. Johnson

How We Need To Remember Our Veterans

We will always remember our veterans. It is always important to remember our veterans because they risked their lives for our country and freedom. It is also important to remember our veterans because they fought for so many years for our safety, and especially for our flag and freedom. Imagine how sad they were to leave their loved ones for so many years! When you see a veteran tell them thanks for fighting for us. Maybe writing them a letter saying thank you for how they fought for our country, bring them a basket of cookies, or just telling them thank you is fine.  

We always need to remember our veterans. My great grandpa Sheldon Rex Jensen fought in the cold war from 1954 to 1956. He would build and fix planes. After  he retired he started to farm squash, potato, tomato, raspberries, and peppers  here in Malad Unfortunately, he died a year ago. Also my uncle Gabe who lives in Canada served in Iraq. 

Why is it important to respect our veterans? We need to respect our veterans because they fought so hard for our lives! Also, because when we say the pledge of allegiance, we need to stand up straight and tall and respect the flag with our hand on our heart and no goofing off.  We want to respect our veterans, and remember how they fought for our freedom and our amazing country. Thank you for listening.

Parker Lundberg

Mrs.Johnson

Why We Should Remember Our Veterans

We should always give thanks and remember our veterans because of what they have done for us. We would not be here today if they did not sacrifice everything they had to fight for us. My grandpa Alan served in Vietnam from 1969-1971, and luckily survived, but he took a risk that not many people are willing to take. My great grandpa Royce also served on a Navy ship from 1945-1946 in WWll, and also survived. I will always remember how great they were, and how much they gave for me and my family. They will always be in our hearts.

We can remember our veterans by honoring them. If you see a veteran, maybe ask what branch they served in and give them thanks. Tell them how grateful you are that they gave all they had to go to the military and serve you and your country. I promise they will love to see that a 5th grader cares that much that they did the things they did. You could even write veterans thank you cards and it would make them feel so good. I have personally had the chance to honor a veteran. One day in the winter my dad, my brother, and I went and shoveled a veteran’s driveway.  His car could not go anywhere because there was so much snow. He did not know that we were doing this until he looked out of his window. He came out and we were done with shoveling. He was so thankful and said that he has not been able to go anywhere. It was the most heartwarming experience that I’ve ever had.

It is very important to remember our veterans. They had to leave behind their families and everything they owned to fight for us and our freedom. We would be in horrible situations if they had not fought. We are so thankful that we are not in those kinds of situations and we are also thankful for them. War can be a very hard thing to go through and they still did it for us.  These things are why it is important to remember all of our veterans.

Aaliyah Mourra

Mrs. Blaisdell

Our Veterans

We remember our veterans because of all they have done for us. They died for us and fought for us. We all need to respect our veterans for what they have done and seen for us.

I will always remember my great grandpa who was in the army, in the army’s Wildcat division. His name was Howard Jessie Workman. He was the leader of 20 men. His friend, Logan Sigmund, said my great grandpa was the bravest man he ever met. Howard was respected by everybody in his group. My great grandpa was on a boat four days away from Japan when the Japanese surrendered. My great grandpa held a dying  friend until the friend was gone. That is an example of how veterans give up almost everything for us and our country. They deserve every bit of respect and honor they can get. Some veterans have even given their lives for us. Ways we can respect veterans are by writing thank-you notes, giving them flowers or we can even just say thank you for your service. I hope we can all respect veterans for what they have done for us. Wish I could have met my grandpa but I still love him for who he was and what he did. So let’s all respect veterans because they are brave and they deserve respect.