Patrick O'Brien, 11, won a patriotic essay contest at Pineville Elementary School. On Veterans Day he read the essay during a school assembly. This is his essay.
Freedom
What does freedom mean to you? To me, freedom is coming home every day to a caring family. Freedom is walking the streets knowing your are safe. Freedom is watching a football game on Thanksgiving and opening presents on Christmas morning. Freedom means you can wake up every morning to the people you care most about.
My freedom is my everything. Freedom means I get to have a good education. To me, freedom is my first steps, my first words. I am just as grateful as everyone in this assembly about how our veterans fought for us and fought for this nation. I think that freedom is going hunting and running around and playing. To me, freedom is saying the Pledge of Allegiance in the morning.
I personally honor our veterans every day. If they hadn't fought, we could be gone. If they hadn't fought for their family and their country, all this could be gone. I used to love to hear my papa tell about the war stories not only for the action but to hear the tales of bravery and heroism.
See Essay Page 3A
Editorial on 11/26/2015