One of the most anticipated times of the year at Malad Elementary School is also one of the most anticipated for the community as a whole.  Malad is a community that takes pride in its support for veterans, and the Veterans Day program is an amazing day for the relatives and servicemembers who attend as well as the students who use their musical talents to honor them.  The veterans program honors the memories of those who have served in the armed forces and passed on, as well as those who are active parts of the community.  Essays for the Veteran’s Day presentation are read by the fifth grade finalists, who are narrowed down to a final four by the judges.  This year’s judges were Garry and Geneal White, and Chalae Teeples.  You will notice that the essays below all reference members of their family who have served.  That was also true of most of the rest of the finalists, and made the judge’s jobs even harder, as the sincere emotion of the students was a core element of all of the essays.

This year’s winners’ essays are printed here, and they will be reading them aloud at the Veteran’s assembly next week.

In addition to writing these thoughtful and heartfelt essays, the finalists also were required to read them in front of the other fifth graders, as well as the fourth grade classes (who will be competing in their own contest next year).  The students will read these essays to the audiences that attend the Veterans Day assembly.  The assembly is held twice on Veterans Day—once in the morning and once later in the evening.  The same program—which involves the essays, patriotic songs, and a lot more—is performed at each event.  Everyone is invited to attend.

Blakely Horsley

I am Grateful.

I am so grateful for Veterans and all they do for us. They had to leave their family, missing birthdays, first steps, or first words, and so much more. They miss their family all the time during the war and in boot camp.  And all to serve their country. 

First, our lives would be different without Veterans. We would not have our country and our flag with our freedoms and our rights. The flag helps us remember what the Veterans were fighting for. First, the white stands for purity and innocence. Second, the red stands for hardiness and valor.  And third, the blue stands for perseverance and justice. Just like our veterans.

Another thing, veterans had to do hard jobs on the battlefield to keep us safe. I love Veterans, not just because people in my family have served, but because veterans serve for all of us as a choice. The people in my family who served are, first, my Great-grandpa, Harvy Field served in the Army. Second, my grandpa, Stephen Carter, served in the Navy.  Third, my second cousin, Mike Horsley, served in the Army. Fourth, my cousin, CJ Grant, is going to serve in the Army.  I am so grateful for all the veterans and what they did for us and our country. I love them so much for all their service and future service.

Furthermore, veterans have boot camp, so they're strong enough for war. Veterans have boot camp for 8-13 weeks. I tried it for an hour and thirty minutes. I barely lasted the hard training! Even though they train so hard to prepare for war, when they come back from war, some of them come back with PTSD from things they saw and things they had to do, sometimes even shooting people that aren’t there. 

In conclusion, I am so grateful for Veterans. Thank you for all you have done for all of us. I love this quote and will always remember it by Howard William Osterkamp, ”All gave some, but some gave all.” 

Lafe Huckaby

A Veterans Pain

My grandpa knew he was going to be drafted into the military so he enlisted. He enlisted so he could choose what branch to be in. He chose to be in the Army and fix radios. He was called Specialist Huckaby. He fought in the Vietnam War. There were a total of 135,300 deaths in the war. My Grampa was fortunate not to be one of them. They were fighting in the jungle. They used a gas called Agent-Orange. The gas was supposed to kill the plants and trees in the jungle, so they could see while fighting. Around 60 years later he died, the doctors said he died from Agent-Orange.

Veterans can suffer even after they have been released from the military. They probably are not suffering from a gas that will eventually kill them. Their pains may be nightmares. It may be injuries. Some may have great sorrows in their minds. Some may have all these pains. 

Some veterans never get relief from their pains. They may have pains that I did not say. They may grieve over a dead friend. They probably missed family events. They were probably home sick. They may have missed births or funerals.

Some veterans were drafted. They did not have a choice whether or not they wanted to be in the military. Many veterans did not come home. We would not have the United States of America without veterans. Veterans gave all they could for us. This is why we should all be grateful for veterans.

Parker Carson

Do you know anyone who has served in the military? If you do, did you tell them thank

you for your service. My dad served in the marines during Iraq. He joined the marines when he was 18. He served four years. He would have served another year, but a bomb was thrown at him. The bomb blew up too early and a sharp piece of it cut a chunk out of his shoulder, neck, chest, and his leg. A reason I am thankful for veterans is because they served for our rights. My dad’s favorite patriotic song is Mr. Red, White and Blue (rock version).

My dad got a book from the military and it said, “Nichols Carson is inhumanely strong

and brave.

My dad is very important to me and I bet your dad is too. Some people don’t realize that veterans are very important. Some veterans come back some don't, some do come back but they don’t have a place to come back to. I know that all veterans deserve love and support. And again if you see a veteran always remember to say thank you for your services.

When my dad left to join the marines he had to leave my grandparents and my uncle. He has seen so much that he will never forget. He served for everybody in this room and we would not be here if he didn't fight for us. He is a special veteran in my family. If we didn't have veterans we would not have a safe place to stay, and we wouldn't have a place to call home.

Piper Lewis

Have you ever considered joining the army and what you would have to go through?

They fight for us, they sacrifice their lives for us, they leave their families to fight.

My uncle served in the military, some of you might know him as Alex Lewis, from

Malad. He served the army to help people. He felt like he could do more. I honor him for that.

He left his family and friends to serve. He wasn’t home for birthdays or Christmas! He could

have lost his life and not came home, but he did come home and I am grateful for that. Even

though Alex watched things and saw things that are horrible but he had good memories too.

Like when one of his friends had been injured really bad but watching him come out of the

hospital ok, made him so happy.

I have another relative that served in the army. His name was Leroy Doniven. He joined

the army because he wanted to provide for his family.They needed money so he joined the

military. He served in the army and he ease dropped on the enemy people. He was a staff

sergeant! He was sadly shot down in his plane because his plane didn’t have any weapons. They never found his body, that's why my papa never had a dad. You should respect any veteran for their sacrifices.

Next time you think of a veteran, think about what they have to go through. So when you see a veteran salute be respectful. They work so hard and work all night and day.

Veterans save the world.