Pikeview High School seniors win patriotism essay contest
May 23—PRINCETON — Two seniors at PikeView High School were awarded $1,000 apiece after winning essay contests that let them express their patriotism.
Mountain Memories Veterans Retreat, a nonprofit organization, conducted its first Patriotism Essay Contest for all seniors enrolled in Mercer County Schools. The essay topic is "What Patriotism Means to Me," according to Dayton C. Meadows III of Mountain Memories Retreat, Inc. A huge American Flag flying at the retreat can be seen off Interstate 77 at Flat Top.
Meadows awarded $1,000 checks May 18 to the winners, seniors Ethan Thompson and Katherine Webb during a presentation ceremony at PikeView High School.
Ethan Thompson wrote his essay about his father, the late William J. Thompson, a native and lifelong resident of Princeton.
William J. Thompson was a sergeant with the U.S. Army in Iraq. He was among the troops who were exposed to smoke coming from burn pits used to incinerate toxic materials.
In November 2021, Thompson was transported home to Mercer County from the Inova Transplant Hospital in Fairfax, Va.
When friends and coworkers learned that he was coming home, the word quickly spread through social media and a warm welcome was organized. More than a dozen cruisers representing the Mercer County Sheriff's Department, the West Virginia State Police and other agencies were waiting near the Giles County, Va. line with blue lights flashing to escort his ambulance. Friends and family were waiting along Oakvale Road and Athens Road to greet him when the ambulance carrying him reached Princeton.
"My essay was basically about the journey my dad took from Iraq," Ethan Thompson said. "He was two tour Iraq veteran combat medic. and he was exposed to toxic burn pits over in Iraq and he had to have two double-lung transplants and his exposure led to skin cancer from which he died from last December.
"It was just kind about his story and about my story after his death, how I experienced the turmoil and how I was kind of confused about why he went through this, and why did my family have to go through this, but in the very end, I learned that he didn't complain. He didn't whine about being in this position, he just kept on moving forward and actually showed me that his patriotism and his love for his country was more than the obstacles he had to face."
Webb wrote her winning essay about her two grandfathers, Carl Smith Sr., who served in the Vietnam War and Frazer Webb, who served during the Korean War.
"They both served around the same time," she said after the awards ceremony," she said last week. "My pawpaw was deployed in the Vietnam War and my grandfather served in the Korean War. and I also wrote about a family friend who just recently passed," she continued. "All three of them served, and growing up, they really taught me that patriotism is about sacrifice and that if you want to keep freedom, you have to fight for freedom, and that is what my essay was based on."
— Contact Greg Jordan at gjordan@bdtonline.com
Contact Greg Jordan at gjordan@bdtonline.com
