By Gabriella Smart

I’m a seventh-grader at Messalonskee Middle School. On Oct. 6, I was lucky enough to interview a veteran at the Cole Land Transportation Museum. The veteran was a soldier in the Vietnam and Cold wars.

My veteran taught me a lot, but the one thing that really touched me was the meaning of freedom. He taught me a quick way to think of freedom: Family, Religion, Expression, Education, Diversity, Opinion, Myself. Everyone defines each of these differently.

Freedom is something you feel, not something people tell you. You make your own definition and none of them are wrong. Also, freedom isn’t something that is just given to people; it has been fought for. We shouldn’t just take it for granted. Men and women put their lives on the line, and many died for our freedom.

Veterans, please come to our assembly this Friday so that we may honor you. The assembly starts at 8:45 a.m., but veterans are asked to arrive at 7:45 a.m. in the cafeteria for light refreshments before we escort you to your seats. Thank you for all you have done.

Gabriella Smart, Oakland

 

By Corey Smith Jr.

I am a seventh-grader at Messalonskee Middle School, and I had an experience where I learned something more than any school will teach me.

I met a veteran named Carl Carlstad. Mr. Carlstad taught me about freedom and how you have to sacrifice for it. He said there was an old saying, “All gave some and some gave all,” and I thought that was true because it says “some gave all” meaning their life and the “all gave some” meaning just being there and helping fight the war. And I am very grateful for those who sacrificed their mind and body for our country.

Recently my class invited veteran Robert Locklin to talk about his experiences in the armed forces so we can better understand what a soldier experienced in Vietnam. His visit embodied how it was in Vietnam and the stories he told were the most heartbreaking I have ever heard. He has been through things that no one should have to experience. He fulfilled his duty to our country. He and so many others are the reasons why we still have freedom.

Corey Smith Jr., Sidney

 

By Brennen Francis

I am an eighth-grader at Messalonskee Middle School. We have been learning and talking about our veterans and their sacrifices recently. Most of the students on our team were lucky enough to be able to talk to veterans and hear their stories when we visited the Cole Land Transportation Museum. The interviews taught me about how much these veterans sacrificed for our freedom.

When I heard the veterans talking about the tragic events they had to witness and deal with on a daily basis, it made me realize how not only physically but mentally demanding war is. In the heat of battle, they had no time to grieve the loss of their fallen comrades, they had to keep fighting and bear through the suffering and loss or they could have suffered the same fate.

Most of these brave men and women do not think of themselves as heroes or that they sacrificed, but the students of Messalonskee Middle School do think of them as heroes. We recognize that the freedoms we enjoy are due to their willingness to defend those freedoms.

It is my opinion that we all should take the time to hear the stories of the men and women who protect our freedoms. We then can better appreciate all that they have done and all that we have.

This Friday, we will be holding an assembly at the Messalonskee High School in the Performing Arts Center in recognition of our veterans. The event will start at 8:45 a.m. but we ask that veterans arrive at 7:45 a.m. for coffee and treats in the MHS cafeteria for refreshments and mingling while the students assemble in the auditorium. Veterans, please come to our assembly and see our appreciation for your service.

Brennen Francis, Sidney

 

By Cloe Sisson

I’m in seventh grade and I go to Messalonskee Middle School in Oakland. This year we have been interviewing veterans at school and at the Cole Land Transportation Museum.

I learned a lot about these veterans stories and past experiences in war. One man got shot three times, another man repaired ship engines, and the woman at the Cole Land Transportation Museum had to drive Army vehicles in Afghanistan. They all told emotional stories that meant a lot to them.

Everyone should appreciate veterans’ sacrifices for our country’s freedom. I learned how important freedom is to so many people. So many people take their freedom for granted and need to realize how important it is to our country.

Our school is having a veterans assembly, to honor veterans who live near us. The assembly starts at 8:45 a.m. Friday. If you are a veteran, please be there by 7:45 a.m. for refreshments and mingling, so that we can guide you to the cafeteria, then escort you into the auditorium. The assembly will be held at the Messalonskee High School Performing Arts Center (131 Messalonskee High Drive, Oakland).

All your family members are invited, so please invite veterans in your family or neighbors. Please come and help us recognize the sacrifices these veterans have made for our country.

Cloe Sisson, Sidney

 

By Joselyn Ouellette

My eighth-grade team at Messalonskee Middle School recently visited the Cole Land Transportation Museum in Bangor. We were able to tour the museum and interview veterans from Maine. This trip was a daunting experience, one I think every student should encounter.

The museum is filled with rich history and war memorabilia. During the tour you can feel the antiquity. Experiencing what the veterans were dealt and supplied, allowed me to understand and appreciate their strife and loss.

After the tour, we were led into a large room filled with veterans. I wasn’t prepared for the story I was about to be told. The amount of emotion pouring out of the interview room was impossible to capture on paper, but I did my best to capture the passion of the veteran who spoke to me.

As Americans we take our freedom for granted everyday. It’s nice to stop and think about what these brave, selfless people sacrificed for us. Before this interview I never thought of freedom as something earned with a heavy price, but yet a gift.

If you are a veteran, I strongly encourage you to attend our assembly at 8:45 a.m. Friday at the Messalonskee Performing Arts Center to receive the gratitude you deserve. You are asked to arrive at 7:45 a.m. in the MHS cafeteria for refreshments and mingling while the students assemble in the auditorium.

Joselyn Ouellette, Sidney

 

By Matthew Parent

I am a seventh-grader at Messalonskee Middle School. I was recently given the opportunity to go to the Cole Land Transportation Museum in Bangor.

The museum’s founder, Galen Cole, a World War II veteran, founded the museum to keep the promise he made to himself in the middle of a battle.

Mr. Cole made the promise while in a ditch getting fired upon by the enemy. The promise he made was that if he got back to his home alive he would give back to his community. He did just that by founding a public museum in 1989.

The museum is a great way to learn about things that were going on during the war and what inventions were key during the war. Part of the way he is influencing children in a good way is that kids under 19 can enter for free. Mr. Cole wants to teach children about everything that was going on in different periods of time.

I will never forget my experience at the Cole Land Transportation Museum and if you visit I’m sure you never will either. The Cole museum is a great place to visit and take your family.

Matthew Parent, Oakland

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