Skip to main content

Idaho Enterprise

Veterans Contest Winners

Christine Smith, music specialist at Malad Elementary School, is also in charge of the Veterans Day program. Because this will be the last year the program is held in the current elementary auditorium, past music specialists and teachers have all been invited to attend.

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 four essayists slected by the judges to present their essays at the Veterans Day program are Ali Hanks, Brittyn Venable, Lacie Palmer, and Saigelyn Cox.  Their essays are printed here, but you should also make sure to attend either the morning or evening presentation of the Veterans Day Program on November 11 at Malad Elementary School.


Brittyn Venable

Mrs. Blaisdell

We Remember Our Veterans Hard Work And Bravery

Ronald Reagan once said,“Our flag does not only fly because the wind moves it, it flies with the last breath of each soldier who died protecting it.”  We remember the hard work and bravery of all the veterans in all of the wars that the veterans fought in. 

Last year  I encountered a very awesome thing. We got to write letters to two veterans. One of the people I got to write to was Bob Stokes, a retired US border patrol agent who wrote back to me! When I got his letter I was so happy! Just knowing that a Veteran wrote back to me made me feel so special!

In his letter Bob thanked me  for being the patriotic American worth fighting for and protecting. He gave me some mementoes so I never lose my bearings and patriotism. He gave me a compass from the 1970 United States Marine Corps Land navigation course in Boot camp.

My great grandpa Elbert James Sweeten and his six brothers all served as veterans. He served in the navy on a minesweeper ship. At the end of a war him and his crew would go and deactivate the minesweepers. The minesweepers are things that our enemies would plant in the ocean, ships went over them, they would explode the U.S and allies. Once my great grandpa Elbert went and looked for a minesweeper to deactivate after the Pearl Harbor War.

We all remember hard times that veterans or veterans friends and family had, so if you see a veteran or veteran’s family members go up to them and say, “Thank you for your service” or, “I am grateful for your sacrifice.”


Saigelyn Cox

Mrs. Allen

I Will Always Remember 

We should always remember our veterans, whatever they served in. I will always remember the Red, White, and Blue colors on our flag. First the color Red on our flag represents valor and bravery. Second, the White represents purity and innocence. Third, the blue represents vigilance, perseverance, and justice. When I first thought about what the colors on our flag maybe stood for, the Red stood for the blood that was shed from our brave veterans. The White stood for the big waves that hit the ships, and the people on board. The Blue stood for the tears that were shed from our veterans and others that lost their loved ones.

Next, veterans are very special people and they had to go through a hard and difficult training. I always thought that the quote, “All gave some, but some gave all,” was a very good quote and it always reminded me of veterans. Veterans were, and still are, very important people. That’s why we made Veterans Day, a day we can honor and serve our great veterans. Many veterans died for you and me and our freedom.

Lastly, when some veterans came back home from war they were not respected the way that they should have been. Those words and actions were sad and painful for the veterans to go through.

In conclusion,we always need to remember our veterans, and honor them wherever we see them. All of our veterans are important in the branch that they served in, whether it’s the Army, Air Force, Coast Guard, Navy, or Marines. Always remember your veterans.


Ali Hanks

Mrs. Allen

I Will Always Remember 

I am a citizen of the United States of America, and because of our veterans I can do so many things that I would not be able to do without them. I will always remember because they not only left to fight for our freedom but they also missed birthdays, first steps and so many other things. I had the opportunity to participate in boot camp. It was hard but now I have a bigger respect for our veterans because I got to learn what veterans go through on a daily basis. I personally have a lot of respect for our veterans because three of my family members served. One of them was my Great Grandpa Max.  He served in Vietnam. 

Several years after he got home he passed away. At his funeral they did some cool things, first they played the bugle and then they did the 21 Gun Salute. Next three jets came flying through the air but one dove off in a different direction of the group, this performance is called the Fallen Soldier. They also gave a flag to my Great Grandma, his wife. I was little at the time, but I still remember this special moment, I will always remember that special moment. I will always remember veterans because, “All gave some, and some gave all.”


Lacie Palmer

Mrs.Johnson

Veterans Essay

What do veterans mean to you?  Do you have any connection with men/women that have served? Do you ever think how hard it would be if you were a veteran?  I am going to tell you what veterans mean to me and the connections I have with them.  

I remember when all of my sixth grade friends told me about the physical boot camp and how hard it was. I thought it was going to be traumatizing. Mrs. Johnson explained it like it was the hardest thing you will ever do. It may have been hard for other people but not me. Sometimes I watch videos of veterans coming home to their families. Some are funny, some are emotional but I like to watch them. Whenever I watch them I always think how hard that would be for me if one of my parents were in the military, but how meaningful the homecoming would be. When we watched the video of the soldiers that protect the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, I just thought how hard that would be if I was one of those soldiers. Not eating food until your shift is over, drinking water, and how cold or hot the weather would be and you still had to be out there. Veterans leave their homes, families, friends, and everything else in their normal lives.

During World War ll my great grandpa flew reconnaissance, which means looking out for enemies while flying in the sky, in Hawaii. He was part of the invasion of Okinawa in 1945 by telling the Navy where the Japanese were. After the war was over he trained fighter pilots in New Mexico. He then flew fighter jets during the Korean War for two years. He finally got to fly B-47’s which is a big bomber plane during the Vietnam War. Also my cousin just came home from basic training for the ROTC. He wants to become a helicopter mechanic. I think it would be very hard for me if I was a veteran. I am so thankful for veterans!

Welcome to Malad
Upcoming Events Near You

No Events in the next 21 days.