Allie Cloyd, a ninth grader at Manhattan High School East Campus, and Madison Legleiter, a seventh grader at Manhattan Catholic Schools, were named the winners of the 2020 Veterans Day essay contest on Wednesday.
The essays, which were written in honor of the 70th anniversary of the Korean Conflict, were read by each winner during the Veterans Day ceremony in Manhattan City Hall following the Veterans Day parade.
Cloyd, the winner of the high-school age group, spoke about the lasting impact of the conflict on the people of the countries that were involved in the conflict.
“To North Koreans, the American bombings are considered a massacre,” Cloyd said. “Every child is educated about them in school. Meanwhile, in America, this is possibly the most forgotten aspect of the war. But to Koreans, these events still remain an enduring part of their cultural heritage. This impacts the way North and South Koreans view each other, their governments and the western world.”
Cloyd also spoke of conflicts’s impact on the integration of women and minorities into the American military and it’s legacy as “the forgotten war.”
“Even though the nickname implies that we need not remember it, we must not forget the people who served, the soldiers who did not make it back and the lasting impact that it had, not only on the veterans who survived it, but also as a stepping stone in transforming American and Korean societies,” Cloyd said.
Legleiter, the winner of the middle-school age group, spoke about the history of the Korean Conflict and the importance of remembering war veterans.
“In my own words, the war is remembered, not forgotten,” Legleiter said. “This war impacted the way we look at the world. Peace should be a factor for all the world. Many people served in this war. This war was the start of the Cold War, which is the history of the United States and this war is remembered.”
Cloyd and Legleiter were each awarded $150, courtesy of the Flint Hills Veterans Coalition, for taking first place in their respective age groups.
Although the Korean Conflict lasted just three years from 1950 to 1953, it had a relatively high death toll.
According to Encyclopedia Britannica, over 50,000 American soldiers and millions of Chinese, North Korean and South Korean soldiers and citizens died as a result of the conflict.
The status of thousands of American soldiers who were involved in the Korean Conflict remains unknown.
