MISAWA AIR BASE, Japan — About 250 Sollars Elementary School students gathered Wednesday for a Memorial Day "teaching ceremony" — and to congratulate the winners of the VFW Patriot’s Pen Essay Contest.

On hand were a group of guests who helped explain the importance of the holiday. They included H.W. Tinnirella, a retired chief master sergeant and director of the Retiree Activities Program at Misawa; 35th Force Support Squadron superintendent Chief Master Sgt. Lisa Kuehnl; and Army Capt. Stephen Jennison, commander of "D" Detachment, 1st Space Command.

The JROTC color guard from Robert D. Edgren High School also assisted.

During opening remarks, Kuehnl told the children that people in the military — like many of their parents — are "part of a group of very special people."

She asked that they think about the sacrifices that have been made when they’re walking around the base over the holiday weekend.

"If you see somebody in a uniform, thank them," she said, joking that it "might even be one of your parents."

Organizer Heather Appel said more than 115 sixth-graders wrote contest essays to answer the question: "When is the right time to honor our military heroes?"

The top essay, written by a student named Alicia, will be forwarded to Tokyo to compete against other Department of Defense Schools in Japan. If she keeps winning, her essay could make it to the national contest in the United States. Alicia’s parents elected not to use her last name in print.

Alicia won a $350 U.S. savings bond, donated by Tinnirella’s retiree organization.

In her essay, she quickly answered the essay question, saying that military heroes should be thanked "as soon as they sign up."

"Anybody with enough courage to join the service is a military hero," she wrote. "And they should be recognized."

Jennison told the students that when he was in sixth grade, Memorial Day meant a day off from school and the opening of the outdoor pool. It wasn’t until he was commanding troops in Iraq — and lost a soldier — that he really thought about the meaning of the holiday, he told them. "It took that to open my eyes," he said.

Members of Sollars’ student council also took the time Wednesday to present the VFW with a check for $530.99 — a partial donation for the Buddy Poppy Program donations gathered this month.

Student Sammy Nelson concluded the ceremony with a solemn rendition of taps.

Winners’ circle

The second- through sixth-place winners of the VFW Patriot’s Pen Contest were:

2nd – Bethany Russell, $300 bond courtesy of the Misawa Retiree Activities Office

3rd – Taylor Rinehart , $300 bond courtesy of the Misawa Officer’s Spouses Club

4th – Sabrina Richard, $200 bond courtesy of the MOSC

5th – Samantha Bunknell, $100 bond courtesy of the PDK Scholarship Fund

6th – Nicolas Mendoza, $100 bond courtesy of PDK