[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 44 (Friday, March 14, 2008)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E426-E427]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  CONGRATULATING THIRD DISTRICT MIDDLE SCHOOL PATRIOTIC ESSAY CONTEST 
                                WINNERS

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. SAM JOHNSON

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, March 14, 2008

  Mr. SAM JOHNSON of Texas. Madam Speaker, this year marked the first-
ever Third District Middle School Patriotic Essay Contest. Students 
living in the Congressional ``District wrote a patriotic essay on a 
topic of their choice. Over 275 students submitted essays for this 
first time endeavor. I must give special credit to Murphy Middle 
School's award-winning teacher Donna Jenkins. Her students authored the 
most essays and contributed greatly to this inaugural contest.
  Today I'm proud to share the essays from the three winners. From here 
on out they'll be preserved for antiquity in the Congressional Record. 
Someday, each winner will be able to share with children and 
grandchildren--``In middle school I wrote a patriotic essay and my work 
will always be recognized in the official Congressional Record.''
  1st Place: Kayla Hudgins, 8th Grade--Age 13, Murphy Middle School, 
Teacher: Donna Jenkins, Lives in Wylie.
  2nd Place: Sai Pranathi Baddipudi, 8th Grade--Age 13, Staley Middle 
School, Teacher: Tammy Brightwell, Lives in Frisco.
  3rd Place: Rebecca Beverly Kow, 6th Grade--Age 12, Faubion Middle 
School, Teacher: Debbie Bennett, Lives in McKinney.
  I want to thank the 275+ students who participated in the contest. 
The outstanding level of participation shows great promise for the 
future. To the winners, you're the voices of the future and I salute 
you. God bless you and God bless America.

                            1st Place Winner

           (By Kayla Hudgins, Grade 8, Murphy Middle School)

       Veterans mean the courage to believe in something bigger 
     than your own prosperity and to risk the ultimate sacrifice 
     of your life. These brave soldiers fought for something that 
     deserves our complete gratitude: our freedom. Veterans have a 
     powerful love for their countrymen. But still, we do not seem 
     to fully grasp the importance of their mission.
       When the veterans left to war, they never knew if they were 
     coming back alive or not. And still they went, for they 
     believed in the freedoms that the founders of this country 
     did. They went so that their families and friends could 
     remain Americans. Veterans fought, not only for their 
     freedom, but for others' freedom as well. They fought for 
     future generations and the present generation. They 
     suppressed their fears to bring peace to all of mankind.
       This love, for country and fellow citizens, is the epitome 
     of selflessness. Veterans are role models of self-sacrifice 
     and brotherly love. Their love for our country and its 
     beliefs lead some of them to give their lives for the sake of 
     others. The veterans do not know if their efforts to bring 
     peace will be in vain. They do not expect thanks for their 
     sacrifices, and that makes them all the more heroes in my 
     eyes.
       And though these brave soldiers risk everything, I am not 
     sure people fully grasp the importance of the existence of 
     veterans. The rights and freedoms these women and men fight 
     for are abused and taken for granted. We seem to forget that, 
     if not for them, our lives would most likely be run by a 
     corrupt communist government. But people continue to march 
     off to war, to protect a nation that may very well never even 
     know they were here, to keep us from invading evils.
       Veterans, to me, are the last remaining people who truly 
     understand what it means to be an American. They are the 
     remnant souls of the soldiers of the Revolution. They are 
     everything America was built upon, and they fight to keep it 
     alive. Veterans stand for life, liberty, and the pursuit of 
     happiness. They do not exist to go to war but to protect 
     thousands from its consequences. The world may never know 
     their names or stories, but they are the only thing that has 
     kept this nation where it is. What drives them, we may never 
     fully understand, but I am thankful for their determination 
     and neighborly love that has no bounds. Maybe one day, the 
     world will fully comprehend how sorrowful and devastating 
     everything would have been without them; hopefully for now 
     they will be satisfied by the innocent smile on their child's 
     face when they return. Veterans are more than heroes; 
     veterans are America.

                            2nd Place Winner

       (By Sai Pranathi Baddipudi, Grade 8, Staley Middle School)

       Herbert Hoover, our 31st president, once said, ``Older men 
     declare war, but it is youth that must fight and die. And it 
     is youth who must inherit the tribulation, the sorrow, and 
     the triumphs that are the aftermath of war.'' Those words 
     ring as clearly in my head as the liberty Bell rang for this 
     very nation many years ago. Everything I treasure: my family, 
     my friends, my life, wouldn't be the same if it hadn't been 
     for the veterans who jeopardized their lives in the name of 
     autonomy.
       That ultimate sacrifice made by those courageous young men 
     and women who fought not just for the well being of the 
     world, or our nation, but for each and every person that 
     resides in this country, are commemorated till this very day.
       Like many other people living in the U.S.A., I too took 
     freedom for granted. But my perspective on the matter changed 
     one Veteran's Day when my class talked about the Vietnam War, 
     the war in Iraq, and saw pictures of the shocking conditions 
     these soldiers had to endure. We also read letters that were 
     written by those soldiers, talking about the adversities they 
     were facing, and how much they missed their families, of how 
     eager they are to see their newborn baby boy or girl. Through 
     their words, I realized the true value of freedom and how 
     much people in this world were willing to give up for it; I 
     was also able to build great respect for the heroes who put 
     their lives at stake for our liberty.
       Ever since, I cherish freedom as a gift. Every day that I 
     am presented with a decision to make, I am thankful that I 
     possess the choice to make that decision. Some of the choices 
     that I have made, and that I will make in the near future 
     will alter my life tremendously. But, I am obliged that I 
     live in a country where it is a right granted to the people 
     to make the decisions that will shape their own lives. I am 
     forever in debt and thankful to those who risked their lives, 
     and to those who lost someone dear to them just so that I 
     could make the decisions that I now make freely on a daily 
     basis.
       This nation would not be near as great as it is now if it 
     hadn't been for those noble young men and women who risked 
     their lives for it. So, each day that I'm alive, I prize that 
     gift of freedom, and in remembrance of the American heroes; 
     our veterans, I offer my thanks and gratitude.

                            3rd Place Winner

        (By Rebecca Beverly Kow, Grade 6, Faubion Middle School)


                              ``Patriot''

       Patriot: a word that gets jumbled in the Vocabulary Vat of 
     our brains. Most of us don't realize that it's the blood, 
     sweat, and tears sacrificed by the person to make our lives 
     easy.
     March 10th
       Dad has a new job. I wasn't paying attention at dinner, I 
     was busy forking my peas

[[Page E427]]

     around, trying to make them disappear, I finally had forced 
     one into my mouth, when Dad made the announcement. I almost 
     choked. He's going to join the military. He'd deployed on 
     April 30th. He said he's wanted to do this for a long time; 
     he's always wanted to fight for our country, but I don't want 
     him to leave. I hope I'm not being selfish, but I just don't 
     think I can watch my daddy leave with no guarantee he'll be 
     back.
     April 29th
       Tomorrow Dad leaves. Today was family day, I didn't find it 
     fun. We just spent the day together, fretting about 
     everything. Now I'm trying to sleep, but when I close my 
     eyes, I see horrible images.
     April 30th
       Dad's Gone. I was kind of in a daze as we drove to the 
     airport. Before he left I gave him my necklace; it has a 
     little angel on it. He put it on and said he won't take it 
     off until he comes home. I'm trying to write through tears, 
     but it's hard because my vision's blurring. I don't know why 
     it didn't hit me until right after Dad walked away, that I 
     might not see him again.
     August 4th
       HE'S!! MISSING!! We got a phone call. They said he never 
     came back. Mom promises he's fine, I try to believe her. It's 
     okay, I tell myself, but tears keep coming.
     September 13th
       My birthday. A day to never forget. I opened the mailbox 
     praying there would be something from Dad. And . . . there 
     kinda was. It was a teeny-tiny envelope with my name on it. 
     It looked like it was holding something, a secret waiting to 
     be told, so big it was about to burst at the seams. I opened 
     it and my necklace fell out. My mind turned to mush, he said 
     he'd wear it until he was home, but why was it mailed, what 
     if he was home . . . just in spirit. OH NO! Thoughts swirled 
     around in my head like a blender, and I sat down on the curb 
     and cried. Later, there was a knock on the door, I slowly 
     opened it. On the other side was something unbelievable; Dad. 
     There he was standing there, home. He had a cast on his leg 
     and bandages everywhere, but he smiled as if he'd won the 
     lottery. That's when he became my hero.

       A patriot is a person that loves and defends their country. 
     It means so much to me, these people, risking their lives for 
     us. These people do things that I wouldn't have the courage 
     to do, and I would like to say something to them; thank you.

                          ____________________