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Winners of the 2024 Willman-Fee Unit 14 American Legion Auxiliary Americanism Essay and Poem Contest are shown above. Back row, left to right: Wyatt Fagerhaug (6th grade), Gannon Culver (6th grade), Aunnika Heumiller (6th grade). Front row, left to right: Rayna Carothers (6th grade), Roslyn Klein (6th grade), Kambrie Eik (6th grade), Josie Arhart (5th grade.) PHOTO COURTESY CONNIE MCLAUGHLIN -
Aunnika Heumiller’s poem was selected at the district level to advance to the state level. She is shown holding her first place District 6 certificate. PHOTO COURTESY WSES
Wessington Springs fifth and sixth graders were invited to participate in the Willman-Fee Unit 14 American Legion Auxiliary Americanism Essay and Poem contest.
The theme of the poems and the essays were, “What Does Freedom Mean to Me” and 'Embracing Our Veterans.”
The local winners read their essays and poems at the recent Willman-Fee Auxiliary meeting.
Aunnika Heumiller’s poem was selected at the district level to advance to the state level. The Auxiliary would like to thank all students for participating and wish them a sincere congratulations.
Embracing Our Veterans
By Aunnika Heumiller
Embracing our veterans is much more than a hug.
Embracing our veterans is all with love.
We don’t need to give them a fancy chair,
We just need to show them we care.
A simple smile or wave is all that they need,
Because some spent their life overseas.
They came back with scars and bruises from the past,
But that all can be healed with a simple laugh.
They might have only served for a little bit,
But their sacrifice never quit.
With every step they take
A better life for some else they make.
Embracing Our Veterans
By Kambrie Eik
We respect our men and women
By saying the Pledge Of Allegiance.
We respect our flag
By standing up, putting our hand on our heart.
They sacrifice themselves
By fighting in wars.
They give us freedom to do the right things
By fighting in wars and deciding to risk themselves for us.
They have to leave their family.
They leave their family to go to wars.
They love their family but they want everyone to have freedom.
Thank you Veterans.
Embracing Our Veterans
By Rayna Carothers
Our Veterans treat our country well,
They live their lives of duty,
They sacrifice for all of us
To make our country have freedom.
Their lives are sometimes difficult.
They leave their family and homes.
They often live in danger
To make us have rights.
They work for a long time,
They don’t have easy lives.
They are very far from home.
We love and honor our Veterans.
Embrace Our Veterans
by Roslyn Klein
We show our Veterans support
They fought for freedom by living in a fort.
They fought overseas
So embrace them please.
We give them a wave
Because they made it their way.
They gave freedom to us
So the good needs to be the focus.
Veterans achieved
Now we need to believe.
So give our Veterans a cheer
When they appear.
What Does Freedom Mean to Me?
By Josie Arhart
When our founding fathers fought for our freedom they did not want people to use their freedom as an excuse to do wrong. It is not right or fair to be left out or rejected by other people for individual differences, such as learning disabilities, home life, interests, or health conditions. I think that everybody must have a chance to stand out and shine. One example of someone who faced hard times because of his disabilities and body deformities is Rober Hoge. He faced rejection because of his appearance. He learned how to live with his disabilities and did not give up. He eventually made friends, played sports, and had the support of his family. Robert became an author and teaches people not to judge others on their appearance because we don’t know everything that they are going through. He found freedom in his disability to learn what he is talented at and impact the world for good.
We are all free to make our own choices, but we don’t think about how that can affect others. We get to go places like school, the park, church, library, or the swimming pool. We should all make these wise choices wherever we go because we don’t know how it affects different people in different ways. We should thank our Veterans every day for their service to let us be free.
I feel some of the freedoms the founding fathers wanted us to have include encouraging and caring for others and working hard. We should all be thankful that we are free to do this every day.
What Does Freedom Mean to Me?
By Gannon Culver
Freedom means quite a lot to me. It means that we can all be treated fairly and not be treated differently or unfairly based on the color of your skin or different genders and different religions. The Soldiers fought for our right to go to school and learn everything we need in life, and even more, for free at school. If we had to pay to go to school some people would not be able to afford to go to school or get a good job. Then after school we can go to college and get a good paying job so we can always live a good life. We also have the freedom to play any school sport without paying or not being able to play that certain sport.
Freedom is also very important to me because my Grandpa Jerry was part of the Navy and he helped fight for the freedom we have today. I am so grateful for him serving in the military and putting in hard hours of work and risking his own life to fight for our freedom. He volunteered to serve in the military and if none of those other soldiers volunteered to be in the military people with not as much experience in fighting wouldn't be where we are today or even be here today.
Freedom also means we can have our own religion and not be set in a certain religion. We also have the freedom of speech to be able to stand up and say anything we are thinking and feel strongly about and not get hurt or arrested for saying what you are thinking.
Freedom is not free. My life would not be the same without the soldiers fighting for our rights that we have today.
What does Freedom Mean to Me?
By Wyatt Fagerhaug
Freedom means peace and that is how our country came to be how it is today. When I think of freedom I think of the rights we have today and every thing we can do. When I think of freedom rights I think of the freedom of speech and the freedom of press.
Freedom makes me think of the veterans that fought for our country. I think of all the sacrifices that helped us win our freedom. I am thankful for all the veterans and what they did to help America be as great as it is today.
If we did not have freedom there would not be as many privileges and rights we have today. If we did not have the army we would have to have a draft, but we do not have to because of the soldiers that fought for us. Freedom gives us the ability to bear arms and hunt as a hobby and to keep food in our fridge. Freedom gives us the ability to go buy food from the grocery store and the ability to do whatever we want whenever we want.
There are lots of freedoms like freedom to go to school and to do sports and school activities for free at school and to eat a free lunch. Some people do not have enough money so it is good for those people to get a free meal. These are reasons of what freedom means to me.