There’s Never A Bad Time For Heroes

Pat Smith

When IS the right time to honor our military heroes? Or, maybe we should ask if America still has heroes. Wow! Now there are two mighty captivating questions. Wouldn’t you love to know what our young people think about them?

The first question, “When is the right time to honor our military heroes?” is the theme of the 2009-2010 Patriot’s Pen contest for 6th, 7th and 8th grade students here in Decatur County and across the nation. It is sponsored by the local Greensburg VFW Post 5584 and Auxiliary. This contest gives the 6th through 8th graders the chance to give their opinion on the theme chosen while at the same time helping them to improve the discipline of writing. The rules are designed to do that.

The essay can’t be less than 300 words or more than 400 words and must be written by the student. Quotations can be used in moderation and, if used, must be identified. The student’s teacher or parent is allowed to check the essay for punctuation, grammar and/or spelling, but the content must remain the contestant's. Contestants should be judged on the basis of their essay alone and are not required to present the essay orally.

The VFW Post 5584 and Auxiliary give monetary gifts to local winners of the Patriot’s Pen contest. They give the winner $50, second place winner $35 and for their place they give $25. The deadline for this contest entry is Nov. 1, 2009.

The second question, “Does America Still Have Heroes?” is the subject for the VFW Post and Auxiliary Voice of Democracy Scholarship Program. It is for 9th through 12th grades. I look forward to seeing what our students can do with this topic. From what I’ve observed of our young people we are likely to have a winner.

This contest, started in 1947, encourages patriotism by giving students the chance to give their opinion in a three to five minute essay. Students put their speech on an audio tape and they are competing for a part of 3-million in scholarships given by the VFW and the VFW Auxiliary posts throughout the nation.

The first place winner will receive a $30,000 scholarship paid directly to the college, university or vocational/technical school. There are other scholarships from $1,000 to $16,000 and Target sponsors an all expense trip to Washington D.C. for first place winners in each Department.

In addition, for the Voice of Democracy contest the local VFW Post and Auxiliary $100 for first place, $50 for second place and $25 for third place.  The deadline for this contest is Nov. 1, 2009.  Maybe parents and grandparents will encourage participation in these two contests.

President of the VFW Post 5584 Auxiliary Thelma Meece and Treasurer Zella Wyatt went to our schools to take the rules and other information about the contests. They took copies of the Patriot’s Pen contest with the subject “When is the Right Time to Honor Our Military Heroes?” to Principal Dr. Rodney King at Greensburg Junior High School, the guidance office of Tricia Stevens at North Decatur School and the guidance office of Lisa Conwell at South Decatur School. Zella said they all seemed very interested and said they would make additional copies as needed.

Thelma and Zella also took copies of the Voice of Democracy contest information to the North Decatur guidance office and the South Decatur guidance office. The Greensburg High School doesn’t participate so that the teacher can concentrate on the speech class and speech contest.

Reading the students essays would give us all a boost. At least, it’s been my observation that our young people can often see things in a brighter light that some of us lose as the years roll by.

Sometimes we forget the significant contributions made by the posts and auxiliaries of our Veterans Organizations throughout the year. The American Legion and the Veterans of Foreign Wars Auxiliaries do a lot more than many of us realize. This was brought to my attention by the Patriot’s Pen and the Voice of Democracy contests for our young people but I’m also aware of their contributions for our Memorial Day observance, Veterans Day, Christmas for our veterans and other priceless gifts made throughout the year.

You’re eligible for membership into the VFW Ladies Auxiliary if you’re related in nearly any way to a veteran who is eligible for membership into the VFW. The local auxiliary Post 5584 has nearly 100 members and about a third attend the meetings each month. The VFW Post and Auxiliary meet at 7 p.m. the second Tuesday of each month in the office of the Veterans Service Officer in the former Washington School building at 315 S. Ireland.

Text Only