Jill Mahler and Cheryl Wilson were named the winners of the Sweet Home American Legion Auxiliary Americanism essay contest earlier this summer. Polly Bond received honorable mention.
Mahler won the junior-senior division, and Wilson won the freshman-sophomore division.
These are their essays on the topic:
Soldiers, Past and Present €“ America, Honor Your Veterans
Jill Mahler
Another Monday morning, the bell echoed through the freshly mopped halls. Lockers slamming and clattering of shoes created a harmonious sound, and in a second, all was quiet.
The students faced the front of the classroom, trying to focus on the dusty flag dangling in the corner. Some began to roll their eyes as some began to complain.
“Why do we always have to say the Pledge of Allegiance?” a voice exclaimed from the back.
Not so far away, a soldier looked down at the cold metal dog tags in the palm of his hand – a friend, a brother, someone’s son, now nothing but a last name, a memory. The sun beat down upon him, his ears still ringing from the boom of the gunfire and the screams. A tear fell down his cheek. He imagined the look on her face as they lower his friend, a brave soldier, into the ground. He imagined what it would be like to be handed a flag and to know that was the end.
It was nothing like in the movies. It was nothing like anything he had ever seen before. He knew there was a chance he would not return home. He might never see his mom or dad or his little sister and her freckles and pigtails. Nevertheless, he knew what he believed in and what he chose to devote his life to.
He remembered the stories he read about in school. He remembered how it felt when he placed his hand over his heart and recited the same old words that many had died to protect. He knew what his grandpa went to Europe for and the men in the black and white photographs that fought alongside of him.
“Somewhere along the way, we have lost the meaning of freedom,” he thought to himself. “There in the fading eyes of our veterans is a truth, a belief and the realization that some will never understand. To keep alive what we care about and what we value, we must be willing to fight for something beyond ourselves.”
And then in the desert sun, he remembered what he was there for. He was willing to give his life, like many before him, for a better world, for an ideal that sometimes seemed hopeless, for the kid across the street back home, the newlywed couple down the block and their baby lying snug in its bed.
He closed his hand and gently placed the tags into his pocket. He stood, grabbing his gun. Another day closer to returning home.
A small boy in the front row placed his hand over his heart and began, “I Pledge Allegiance to the€¦.”
Cheryl Wilson
There was once a time that the only soldiers people felt to be wrong were the ones they found on the opposite side of the battlefield. Now as time goes on, views change, and these soldiers feel the ramifications. Their pedestal is crumbling as fewer people believe in the cause they bravely fight for.
In the times of World War I, we did not see a single soul willing to debase these beloved personages. Parades were held for those returning and seeing the love given out by their fellow American. The soldiers were able to live out their lives knowing the service they had done for their country and their people had not been in vain.
Those not so lucky to arrive home would be buried with an American flag, and each day, you could find strangers placing flowers on their graves. Even though they did not know the person, they knew their story and were compelled to decorate and honor these fallen few as a small favor for what had been given up. Over the years, many people have forgotten that these few were not preordained with the role of protector. They chose to take on the role, to keep safe what they loved and held dear.
Now we find ourselves in the arms of another conflict. Though this battle is not the worst we have seen, it is tough, for the once-gleaming vision of a soldier has been tarnished. Where there were once shouts of praise and happiness we find yells of dishonor and anger.
We’ve found that the parades for the returning have shrunk, and the once-present certainty of justice has faded from the minds of many. Our fallen brethren, though still blessed with the comforts of Old Glory, will seldom be seen bearing the golden flower of a stranger for that stranger no longer cares for the soldiers’ stories or the lives that they’ve lost while protecting the rights and freedoms the stranger now takes for granted.
Throughout ages and societies, soldiers have taken various roles from baby-killer to savior to scapegoat. In past times in our country, we have seen these figures honored and adorned for the acts they have done and the very lives that they’ve lost. But now, in our present time of struggle, these once loved and cherished idols have been cast down, placed in the category of murderer and sadist.
At each instance, no matter the circumstances, they hold their heads high and will not be swayed from their belief that what they are doing is the right thing.
We, the still-true believers of their work, will look to the future hoping that somewhere there will be a place that these saints will be recognized and glorified for the work and hardships that they have witnessed, protecting the freedom we live by.
Hero, defender and saint are the true names that belong with the title “soldier.”