Veterans Wounded in Iraq and Those who Served during Vietnam War
To Join in Recognizing Kids
Miniature Horse "Mountain Dew" Will Help Deliver Winning Essays to Hospital
PHOENIX - The Carl T. Hayden VA Medical Center will host a breakfast to announce the winners of its Annual VA Veterans Day Parade Essay Contest. Eric Castro, of Tolleson, who lost a leg when his company of Army engineers was ambushed outside of Fallujah, and currently himself, a full-time student, will attend to help recognize the essay contest winners.
Authors of the top essays will read their winning entries at a breakfast on Thursday, Oct. 25, from 8 to 9 a.m. The event will be held in the basement conference room of the VA Medical Center's Ambulatory Care Center, located near Third Street and Indian School Road. The students will read their essays to veterans in attendance.
The students will help Mountain Dew deliver all of the essays to several patient wards in the hospital and the Nursing Home Care Unit, so that patients can read all of the nearly 400 essays that were submitted.
2007 VA Veterans Day Essay Contest winners are:
First Place, Elementary School Division - Taylor Laties, 11, who attends Burk Elementary School in Gilbert. She is in the 6th grade.
Second Place, Elementary School Division - Ryan H. Johnson, 11, who attends Cactus View Elementary School in Phoenix. He is in the 6th grade.
First Place, Middle School Division - Amy Veals, 12, who attends Christ the King Catholic School in Mesa. She is in the 7th grade.
Second Place, Middle School Division - Benjamin Nicol, 12, who attends Brimhall Junior High in Mesa. He is in the 8th grade.
First Place, High School Division - Andrew Carlson, 16, who attends Cortez High School in Phoenix. He is a Junior.
Second Place, High School Division - Elizabeth Malone, 15, who attends Dobson High School in Mesa. She is a Sophomore.
The students wrote of pride in and thankfulness for our nation's veterans. A common theme was the sacrifices veterans have made. One winner wrote that veterans have always been willing to do whatever it takes to protect what it means to be an American," and asked "why would anyone be willing to put his or her life on the line at a moment's notice while the rest of the world drudges through their daily routine?"
Another wrote that, "We need to stop thinking only of ourselves but what we can do for our country and for the rest of the world."
Mountain Dew, a miniature hose and certified hospital therapy pet, will deliver the documents to the event in the hospital.
Students in grades 5 through 12 from across Arizona submitted essays describing what Veterans Day means to them. Entrants are divided into three categories - elementary, junior high and high school - and are judged by VA Medical Center staff.
First-place winners will receive a $200 savings bond and second-place winners receive a $150 savings bond. The winners also will ride on a float in the parade, and have their essays printed in the parade program.
Castro is still receiving treatment from the VA Health Care System for wounds sustained in 2003 and is pursuing a degree in engineering at Arizona State University.
The "VA Voices," a group of Carl T. Hayden VA Medical Center employees and volunteers, who honor and entertain veterans through the gift of song, will provide patriotic music for the event.
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