VFW awards Ritzville essay winners

The Ritzville Grade School students in grades five through eight participated in the annual Veterans of Foreign Wars essay competition and the VFW selected the top three essays for each class. Dennis Greenwalt of Post 11446 announced the essay winners during an assembly at the grade school on Jan. 13.

The fifth grade class responded to the topic “What is an American,” while the sixth through eighth grade wrote about the topic, “Are you proud of your country?”

Every year, beginning on Sep. 1 and running until Nov. 1, the VFW sponsors an essay program for grades three-12. The topic for the nine-12 grades is the “Voice of Democracy” program that awards the winners with a scholarship.

The winners for the grade school competition move on to the district level, and if the essay wins at districts, it enters the state competition.

The top three essay writers from every class received a medal, a certificate and a bag of goodies. Hayley Bogart won first place, Caden Liberty won second place and Bryce Hansen won third place for the fifth grade class.

Rachel Schell won first place, Emma C. Aldrich received second place and Claire Roettger won third place for the sixth grade class. The seventh grade awards went to Erica Leffel for first place, Felicia Ziemer for second place and Tessa Jantz for third place.

For the eighth grade class, Holly Nygren won first place, Samantha Asmussen won second place and third place went to Hallie Galbreath.

What is an American?

By Hayley Bogart

Fifth grade, first place

An American is someone who has freedom and civil rights. They are people who fight for our country and someone who lives the American way. That is what I think is an American.

To start with, an American is someone who has freedom and civil rights. People can say what they want and not get judged for it. People also have a right to vote for president. Americans can pick the job they would like to choose. Other people can’t choose for them.

Also, Americans are people who fight for our country. They Risk their lives for us and our freedom. People who are soldiers risk their lives for us. They are brave and proud. Another reason is they feel our countries worth fighting for.

Another example of an American is someone who lives the American way. People can go places and feel safe. We know police are watching over our cities. People work hard to provide for their families. They work hard to buy food and water. Most people work to own a home and car.

Lastly, an American is a very special person. It is someone who has freedom and civil rights, a person who fights for our country, and lives the American way. This is what I love about being an American.

Are You Proud of Your Country?

By Rachel Schell

Sixth grade, first place

Am I proud of our country? Well, yes I am because we have people risking their lives for freedom, we have much faith in God, and we are helping other countries. I am so proud of our country.

First, I am proud of our country because we have people going off into the military and fighting for our peace. They are leaving their families and homes and going off to a place they may have not been to before. They do not know if they will come home again. They may never see their families again. It’s incredible to me how they can care enough for our country to go off to a different country and fight for our freedom.

Adding to that, I am proud of our country because we have much faith in our God. We say and believe that what He says is true. The fact that he is always watching us, gives us hope. Sometimes we take His word in because He means that much to us. Some go to church every Sunday to show their respects for the God we know. Even though some people don’t go to church, they still respect the Lord.

Also, I am proud of our country because we are helping other countries. We send food to other countries, like Japan or China. Also, we go to countries in need of help after a disaster strikes such as a hurricane. We also help with re-building cities after something happened in that city or country. Helping other countries will gain respect for us as a country. We have helped so many countries in need of help.

In conclusion, I am proud of our country because we have people risking their own lives to go to war, we have much faith in God, and we are helping other countries. This is why my country is very important to me and why I am proud of it. I love my country.

Are You Proud of Your Country?

By Erica Leffel

Seventh grade, first place

I am proud of my country and I think everyone in the United States should be also. I am proud of my country because we are free, men and women go to war for us, and we have many opportunities in life.

My first reason why I am proud of my country is we are a free country. We have kept our freedom since 1776, and I think that it is amazing that we have kept it for so long. We also have the right to vote at age 18, and we can choose our own religion. We have equal rights and we don’t have slaves any more.

My next reason why I am proud of my country is men and women go to war for us. They sacrifice themselves to save our country and our freedom. The Civil War was to free slaves and give equal rights. World War I and II were to keep our freedom and rights. The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are being fought so both countries can have freedom, also.

My final reason why I am proud of my country is we have opportunities. Women and people of different races have the opportunity to do things white men have always done in the past like voting and going to school. In the past, segregation made it so people of different races couldn’t go to the same school or jobs and they also had to drink from different drinking fountains. Also, white women weren’t allowed to go to school. They had to stay home and do housework and other things like that. We have the opportunity to go to school and choose our college. We also have the opportunity, by going to college, to get wonderful jobs, like archeologists, astronauts, or scientists.

In conclusion, my reasons why I am proud of my country are we are a free country, men and women sacrifice their lives in war to save our country, and we have many opportunities in life.

Are You Proud of Your Country?

By Holly Nygren

Eighth grade, first place

Are you proud of your country? Are you proud that you have freedoms and rights? Most of all, are you proud of the brave men and women who have the courage and strength to travel away from their family and friends to go overseas to fight for your freedom and rights? I am very proud of my country because it has freedoms, rights, and people willing to fight for it.

I am proud of my country because of its freedoms. You should be proud of the freedom of religion because American citizens can choose what to believe or not to believe. But here in America, no matter what you believe, you are free to worship how you want. I am proud to live in a country where no one can take that away.

Another reason I am proud of my country is because its citizens have rights. One of the many rights is to vote. Voting is important to this country because it gives every citizen the right to express their opinion. For a while only men were eligible to vote and women were not. This changed on May 19th, 1919, when the 19th amendment was ratified. It gave women the right to vote. I am proud of my country because all rights apply to every citizen in this country.

Finally, I am proud of my country because there are people who are fighting for this country. Each and every brave man and woman who is or was fighting for our country makes us proud.

Many people have fought and died so that we, as citizens of the United States, could live a better life today.

What these people have given up to protect this country and its people is something to proudly cherish in our hearts.

In conclusion, I am proud of my country. If you ever think you are not proud of your country, just look around and think about all the things you have to be proud of. Think of your rights, freedoms and of every single man and woman who are serving our country today. The opportunity to live in this country is something to be proud of.