4 minute read

Voice of Democracy contest winners announced

By Gwen Romero

The State winners for this year's Voice of Democracy speech contest were announced last week, and Morgan High School's Jacob Russell took third place overall. Jake comes from a military family and is planning to pursue a career in the Air Force. This personal connection is part of what inspired his speech.

Jake, and two additional MHS students, Ilana Felt and Elli Lane, placed at the region and district levels to advance to the State competition, where his speech was judged against other students' speeches from bigger districts.

Congratulations to Jake and to the other finalists.

Continue reading to enjoy the speeches themselves. l

Why is The Veteran Important?

Veterans, you have the bravery to do a job that needs to be done. You risk your lives, relationships, and much more for us to live our everyday lives, and be able to speak freely. You are the reason we have and will continue to have a free country, and why our nation represents unity and strength.

Our founding fathers fought for our freedom and rights in 1775 giving birth to this free nation and creating the first Veterans after a six year war.

We have had multiple generations of men and women volunteering themselves to keep our country safe since then. They maintain order, prevent chaos, and keep unstable situations from developing into something worse.

I would like to share an example of one of our brave Veterans. In January 1945, Audie Murphy seized the gun of a tank destroyer in flames and began firing against the German troops. All the troops expected the whole tank to blow up under him as he continued his one-man attack. He became wounded but didn't let that stop him until he ran out of ammunition. As he walked away from the still-burning tank destroyer, he wondered how he wasn't dead. Murphy had personally killed or wounded at least 50 enemy troops and directed artillery against dozens more. He was named a national hero but later stated, “Bravery is just determination to do a job that you know has to be done. I just fought to stay alive, like anyone else, I guess.”

Just like Murphy, our military service men and women exhibit courageousness and lay their lives on the line for us every day. Being the first to volunteer, they keep America strong. They serve during times of peace and war, protecting the safety and security of our citizens and other citizens around the world. They have fought for the people who couldn’t fight for themselves, some dying and giving up their families to do so.

Veterans are a group of very devoted people. They are hard working and are always pleased to serve their country in any way or form. They are some of the most selfless people, willing to do anything for this country and its citizens, while putting their lives and families at risk so that we can enjoy our freedom. They are some of the most talented, capable people with invaluable experience. They have gained leadership skills, can deal with stress and pressure, adapt to change, and much more.

With Veterans doing everything they have done for us, and knowing the risks that come with it, do they get enough appreciation?

Veterans are more likely to gain mental health problems, including PTSD, over any other group in the United States. They have experienced so much more stress and trauma in their lives than non-Veterans, including deaths of fellow soldiers and friends. This could make it harder to cope and endure the pain. Knowing they could be seriously injured, or possibly not make it back home to their family, they still continue to serve for us. They have stayed strong through everything knowing they are appreciated by the people of their country.

You, as veterans, are model citizens that put in hard work, dedication and determination in all that you do. You fight to protect our country and our futures as proud Americans in the land of the free. Veterans, you are constantly making our country proud, and paying a price others aren’t willing to pay.

You protect our country and its values. You do this by putting your lives on the line everyday, in foreign countries, against enemies with little or no moral code or regard for human life. You willfully did this whether or not your efforts were appreciated.

Without our Veterans, America wouldn’t represent freedom and unity, and we wouldn’t be able to live free lives. Those who have and continue to put on the uniform deserve honor and our respect for their service to our country.

Why is The Veteran Important?

Do you have someone, for example, a friend or a family member who would do just about anything for you? To protect and serve you no matter what? Veterans are those people who would do everything and anything for our country and for us. They have done and sacrificed so much, all for this amazing country. It is very important that we as Americans make sure they know how much that means to us. Without them, we wouldn’t have most, if not all, of the amazing luxuries and freedoms we have today.

From conflicts like the American Revolution to conflicts like World War I, World War II, and many others, American veterans have done and continue to do outstanding services for this country to protect what we know and love. They have made tremendous sacrifices for our country. We owe a huge debt to the heroes of this country we call veterans.

Throughout American history, more than 650,000 soldiers have given their lives for this country. Around another 243,000 American soldiers have given their lives while wars were being fought. Most, if not all, of these virtuous soldiers had families and friends back home. They didn’t even get to say goodbye. They left to serve their country not knowing whether or not they were going to ever see their loved ones again. If that’s not the definition of a hero then I don’t know what is.

A veteran named Joey Hooker served in and joined the Army National Guard in 1986 where he got the rank of staff sergeant. He eventually led himself and his soldiers into Iraq in 2003. Joey was very good at accomplishing things and getting stuff done. According to Joey himself, he said, “The guys called me Sergeant Rock because I could be hard on them. We had to buckle down and get it right. No messing around. I didn’t want to go to war with those guys not knowing what to do.” Joey is a very good example of the hard work and dedication our veterans have for our country.

This hard work and dedication that Joey displayed for his country paid off

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