Teen's essay earns top honors

Carmen Mesbergen, a junior at Greeley West High School, recently took part in the National Youth Leadership Forum from Oct. 23-28 in Washington, D.C.

She participated in an essay contest, and hers was one of the top four chosen out of 400 from students around the country. The prize for the top students was the opportunity to lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington Cemetery.

Carmen is in the International Baccalaureate program at Greeley West, and she is the daughter of Gordon and Iris Mesbergen of Greeley.

-- Iris Mesbergen, Greeley

CARMEN MESBERGEN'S ESSAY:

He sat huddled below the icy mass of frozen earth and dirtied snow, his ragged breath catching against the stillness of a frosty midnight to listen for the only sound his exhausted senses would never fail to hear: the word of command -- the order to attack -- the signal to end this hypnotic eternity of tense expectation. And then it came. In a rush of energy the trench spilled forth her plethora of gallant protectors, as Nature's tranquility hid her sublime face from the gods of war unleashing their chaos upon the frozen wasteland of a wire-ribbed field. He had risen above the snow-packed walls of the trench in a surge of exultant power; the frozen earth quivering beneath the triumphant march of determined steps. The blinding violation of night's serenity battered the once-brilliant snow into smudges of crimson mush, but at last dawn's rosy promise glanced over the field of destruction, and the screaming outrage drifted farther into muffled oblivion.

He lay motionless upon a bed of trampled snow; arms stretched as if embracing the coming dawn, eyes lifted to the cold, fading stars, frozen cheeks paled by the gentle fingers of a timidly falling snow. He was merely one amongst a field strewn with bodies, and one of many to never be named, but he proclaimed to posterity the vitality of honouring those who gave everything for the glory of America. He is a representation of all who died alone upon a battlefield of a foreign land, a solemn promise from America's citizens never to forget their defenders' sacrifices, and a constant reminder of freedom's dearly bought preservation. He is merely an obscure soldier eternally slumbering beneath the marble of a national shrine: He is America's Unknown Soldier.

If I were to assume a position among the four scholars honoured with the privilege of laying a wreath on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, it would be a monumental culmination of my intense research of America's past and the subsequent respect in which I behold her fallen heroes. Yet, this irreplaceable experience would never be the pinnacle of my passion to adore and promote the fragile liberties with which our nation is able to bless her citizens, because of the ultimate sacrifice paid by thousands of her children. Rather, this honour would only serve as a glorious beginning to an even deeper appreciation for those lost in the interest of protecting America, and would exist as an unforgettable cornerstone in my pursuit of inspiring others to live every moment in our country with an intense gratitude for the unknown, abandoned, and forgotten, who willingly offered their lives as payment for their homeland's ultimate prosperity in freedom.

A humble wreath reverently places upon an unidentified soldier's grave is a seemingly insignificant gesture of gratitude in comparison to the immense sacrifices made by those who earned this act of remembrance. Yet, just as the single body residing in Arlington's famed tomb is a symbol of all who will never be identified or recovered, so do I long to be a representative of the nation's sentiments. Through this demonstration of unrelenting gratitude, I would be sincerely blessed to assure the memory of America's countless dead that although they died in oblivion, their contribution to the nation's life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness will never be forgotten; but always esteemed by future generations as an inestimable treasure whose significance is revered from coast to coast, and most keenly observed at the foot of that august shrine to all of her lost combative forces: The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.