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First Place Winner,
Veteran's Day Essay Contest, November 2000 |
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Veteran's Day
by Mark Garcia
Lockhart High School
Herbert Clark Hoover 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." These words ring as clearly in
my head as the bell of liberty rang for this very nation many
years ago. Everything that I hold dear: my family, my friends,
my life, would be non-existent or greatly altered had the veterans
not risked their lives in the name of freedom. It is for this
reason and more that Veteran' s Day holds the importance to me
that it does.
It was a hot day and the sun beats down upon
the soldiers as they set foot upon the beach of the enemy. Many
of the young men were shot on the spot not even granted the time
to set foot upon the shore from their boats. As they sprinted
across the beach to get to a sheltered area, more fell at the
mercy of the German machine gunner. Some of these soldiers were
young men, no older than I and have already had their life stripped
away from them. This ultimate sacrifice for the good of man-kind
was made by the brave men who fought not just for the good of
the planet, or of the nation, but for each and every person that
inhabits this great nation today. Each day that I am alive, I
cherish that gift of freedom, and in remembrance of these men,
I offer my thanks and gratitude. Had they not gone fearlessly
to war for the things that they held most dear to their hearts,
then there is a chance that many children, myself included, would
not have been born. Even if we had been born, there is the chance
that we would have been ruled viciously by the hand of Adolf Hitler,
or some other power-hungry leader.
War. A three letter that is, sadly, one of
the most determining factors of the history of all of the nations
worldwide. This is the word that devoured so many young souls
and shed the blood of the nations, not just in world wars, but
in the civil wars of each nation as well. It might be thought
that since there has been no major war affecting the well-being
of this nation since I have been alive, that I would be ignorant
to the emotions and appreciation to those who risked their lives
so that I might take my first breath. This is a false generalization,
though. Every breath that I breathe, I thank God for allowing
me to be born an American. I thank him for helping America and
the allies to win the war against Germany and the Japanese. Everyday,
ideas and thoughts flood my head of how different life would be
for me if I lived in a country ruled by a communistic government.
Then my mind pleads for sanctuary, as I muse upon the thought
of being in a country where a person is degraded or slaughtered
for being different from what the ruling population considers
normal.
Veteran's Day is not just a day
that is celebrated to commemorate those who fought that war so
valiantly, but it is also a day for me to focus upon what they
fought for. Freedom is a thing that many people residing in the
United States of America take for granted. I cherish the gift.
Every day that I am presented with a decision to make, whether
or not I make the right decision, I am thankful that I even possess
the choice to make the decision. Some of the choices that I have
made, and that I will make in the future will be life altering.
I am grateful that I live in a country where it is a right granted
to the people to make the decisions that will mold their lives.
I am forever in debt and thankful to those who risked their lives,
and to those who lost s6me one important, some one they held dear
so that I could make the decisions that I now make freely.
When Veteran's Day is upon the nation and I
read about a situation in which veterans were not recognized or
were not honored, I am filled with sorrow. This nation would not
be near as great as it is now had these brave young men and women
that some call grandmother or grandfather, mother or father, not
risked their lives for it. Where would this place be if these
heroes and heroines of their day had ignored the service to their
country? Surely, the nation would have perished in unimaginably
horrible ways. I think of Veteran's Day as a day of remembrance.
On this some times overlooked day of thanks, I praise the Lord
most high not only for blessing me with the life I live, but also
for blessing me with the country that I live in. No where else
is there a country with as much pride, dignity, and honor as America.
Nor is there any place that has people who are willing to risk
so much, if not everything that they hold close to their hearts,
so that their fellow country men, acquaintance or stranger, can
continue to taste the sweet sense of freedom and liberty.
Winning
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