An eighth-grade student from Roanoke and a high school sophomore from Chesterfield County are first-place winners in the Virginia War Memorial’s 2022 Veterans Day Student Essay Contest.
Mason Bibby, who attends North Cross School in Roanoke, and Katie Wittenbraker, a student at Monacan High School, were announced as the winners at the 66th annual Commonwealth’s Veterans Day Ceremony on Nov. 11 at the Virginia War Memorial in Richmond.
The annual contest, open to middle and high school students in Virginia, presented students this year with the topic “A Virginian who served in the United States Military during the Vietnam War who inspires me.”
Winners traveled to Richmond with their parents and teachers, read their essays on stage as part of the ceremony, and each received a prize package presented by the Virginia War Memorial Foundation. The students were personally congratulated by Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin, First Lady Suzanne Youngkin, and Virginia Secretary of Veterans and Defense Affairs Craig Crenshaw.
“We join with all our fellow Virginians in congratulating Katie and Mason on their winning entries in our 2022 Veterans Day Student Essay Contest and also congratulate all of the students from throughout the Commonwealth that took the time to write essays and participated this year,” Virginia War Memorial Director Dr. Clay Mountcastle in a press release. “Thanks also to Katie and Mason’s teachers, Mrs. Garrett and Ms. Harris, who encouraged them to write their submissions. Educating our young people and passing on the stories of service and sacrifice of our men and women who served is one of our most important missions here at the Virginia War Memorial. With their inspiring words, these students demonstrate the importance of this mission.”
Dedicated in 1956, the Virginia War Memorial’s mission is to Honor Veterans, Preserve History, Educate Youth and Inspire Patriotism in All. The memorial includes the names of nearly 12,000 Virginia heroes who made the ultimate sacrifice during World War II, the Korean, Vietnam and Persian Gulf Wars, and the Global War on Terrorism. The memorial is at 621 South Belvidere Street, Richmond, Virginia.
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Rebecca Barnabi
