Three MMA Cadets Earn Top Honors in Local VFW Patriot’s Pen Essay Contest

Missouri Military Academy (MMA) proudly announces that middle school cadets Justin Sattler (Lakewood, Colorado), Christopher Phelan (Lee’s Summit, Missouri), and Kie Portuallo-Lopez (Parkland, Florida) have been named local winners of the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Patriot’s Pen youth essay contest. Sattler's submission now advances to district competition, with a chance to continue advancing to the state and national contests. Scroll down to read their entries.

Feature photo, representing VFW Post 3772, Ernest Allen congratulates Cadet Sattler.

The Patriot’s Pen contest is a nationwide VFW writing program that invites students in grades 6–8 to reflect on America’s history, values and their own experiences as young citizens. Each year, more than 60,600 students participate for a chance to earn part of nearly $1 million in scholarships and awards. First-place state winners receive at least $500, and the national first-place winner earns $5,000.

This year’s theme — “How Are You Showing Patriotism and Support for Our Country?” — challenged young writers to consider what patriotism looks like in their daily lives and how they express their pride in America. Cadets Sattler, Phelan and Portuallo-Lopez impressed local judges with essays that demonstrated thoughtful insight, strong writing skills and a clear dedication to the values the contest seeks to promote.

“I am proud of these young men and the thoughtful perspectives they shared through their essays," said Academy President Brigadier General Richard V. Geraci, USA (Ret). "At MMA, we teach our cadets how to think, not what to think. These cadets' work in the Patriot’s Pen competition reflects that, as well as the values of patriotism, service and responsible citizenship that we strive to instill in every middle and high school cadet.”

The VFW describes the contest as an opportunity for students to examine America’s past and present while sharing their personal perspectives on the nation they call home. 

Missouri Military Academy congratulates Cadets Sattler, Phelan and Portuallo-Lopez on their achievements and wishes Cadet Sattler the very best as he advances to the next level of competition. Their success reflects not only their hard work but also the Academy’s continued emphasis on academic excellence, character development and civic responsibility.

Patriot's Pen Winning Entries

Entry from Cadet Sattler

What is patriotism to you? To many it is a duty or service to your country. It is a great sacrifice for the betterment of your people or humanity as a whole. Making the ultimate sacrifice for the betterment of your people is the most patriotic thing you can do. However, there are other things you can do to be patriotic in terms of community service. You can do things such as clean streets, volunteer for humanitarian projects, help at animal shelters, and I would even argue that a garbage man does community service. You could just love your country to be patriotic. Being patriotic doesn’t take a lot.

A great example of patriotism is Charlie Kirk. He displayed a true love for the United States and to people by using his First Amendment rights, being loving and respectful to all people, and he voted on important issues such as abortion, immigration, tax raises, and the president. These are all things you can do to be patriotic. Ask yourself, what does patriotism mean to you, and what have you done to be patriotic?

I believe that patriotism is daring to challenge the people that you disagree with. I believe that America was built on debate and hearing others’ opinions. However, nowadays people just want to argue and refuse to hear others’ perspectives. America wasn’t built on hate, it was built on being kind and hearing other people out. These are all patriotic things you can do.

But don’t get patriotism confused with nationalism. Nationalism means that you think that your country is good but all the other countries are bad places to live in. Nationalism is similar to racism in the way that it puts other countries down. In WWI, nationalism had influence on America, Germany, and Russia. When a team of people tried to kill an Austrian official, they bombed his car and tried to shoot him. They failed the first time, but the official drove around the block twice and he was killed the second time. This is an outrageous example of nationalism. However, nationalism can just be hating another country and their people.

In conclusion, patriotism is everything in loving your country and doing your best to make it better. This is in loving your country and not hating others. And remember, a country can only stand on one leg for so long.

Entry from Cadet Phelan

“Patriotism is not about blind loyalty, but about recognizing the greatness and potential of your country.” As Charlie Kirk said this you begin to wonder. “Do I truly understand the potential of this country?” Do you really understand the greatness our forefathers had envisioned? The American Dream is to where we can be who we want to be if we just work for it. You could be an astronaut, an artist, a professional athlete, or even a politician. All you have to do is work for it. I believe that patriotism is understanding the potential this country has and striving to fulfill that potential.

Understanding the potential of the United States of America is something many Americans don't truly understand. I myself feel like that, the potential is that the USA has the potential to be a place where you can be who you want to be. You could be religious, you could also have no faith. A place where you could have whatever job you could pretty much imagine, and I think that’s pretty incredible.

Now striving to fulfill that vision is, if you can believe it, the trickier part. Like I mentioned before, Americans forget the potential and beauty of our country. Since they forget this potential, there is no motivation to make this place even more incredible than it already is. However, the people who have motivation could change this country in many amazing ways. It has the potential to fulfill or even exceed the vision our forefathers had and that's why I have big expectations for myself and this country.

When you combine these two actions, the products can be revolutionary. Take the Wright brothers for example. Two brothers who loved America. Had this idea, this impossible idea, that they could defeat gravity. This is something that Americans should show patriotism to. The idea is if we understand this we can accomplish anything. I mean think of how many years our ancestors looked at the birds and wished they could fly, and because of our fellow Americans who followed the American dream, we can now fly.

In reality, most people don't accomplish things like the Wright brothers. However we could if we see the potential this nation has and strive to fulfill it. I’m confident this country will be going places. Because after all we just need some patriotism, because when we have that and try to fulfill it, you can even defeat gravity.

Entry from Cadet Portuallo-Lopez

My bloodline is kind of a mess. I am adopted and I never really knew my parents while my adopted parents are Italian and Columbian. I was born and raised in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. I was taught to always help others and to put myself at the bottom of the list, but never anything about “patriotism,” so I find myself asking: What is patriotism? And how can I show it in my everyday life?

I draw inspiration from our 16th president, Abraham Lincoln, to make a big change in the world as he did. “Fourscore and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.” As Lincoln said it, but the truth? We are not all equal. There are people out there who deserve American citizenship more than me. I got mine simply because I was born here. Who decides that? So, I have made a decision to earn my citizenship.

Following Lincoln’s path of patriotism, I make sure to treat all others fairly and express my love for my country during the Pledge of Allegiance. Additionally, I will always salute the flag that my brothers and sisters died for. Another way is by participating in voting when I turn 18 or participating in events like the Fourth of July. My aunt works at a veterans hospital, so I could volunteer there to help with delivering meds, talking to the vets about their problems, or even arranging church services for them.

There are a lot of things I can do to show patriotism for my country. The only problem is how will I make sure that these things happen? It happens to the best of us — we all say we’re going to do something and never do it. How can I make sure I do them? I could set timers on my phone to remind me. I could also ask others.

The whole point of this essay is to explain how I show patriotism for my country, but I really don’t do anything to show my love for America. I hope that after writing this, I will do the things I mentioned. In conclusion, not many people actually show patriotism every day. So, using Lincoln as a role model, I think we can all do better at showing patriotism every day.