During a surprise presentation before the entire student body, All Saints Catholic School fifth grade student Andrew Horgan was awarded first place in the newly established Northern Virginia “Veteran’s Day Essay Contest.” Andrew won both the 7-10 age group and 1^er place overall in the contest for his patriotic telling of Veteran Duke Netko’s story as a United States Marine Corp pilot. Duke was on hand at the event to congratulate Andrew for a job well done.

Andrew’s essay focused on Duke’s twenty years of military service, and how learning about Duke’s duty assignments and acts of bravery helped Andrew better appreciate the sacrifices made by our American patriots. The “Veteran’s Day Essay Contest” was founded by Karen Theobald Conlin to help students learn more about our nation’s veterans. In Andrew’s award letter, Ms. Conlin noted that, “Marine pilot Duke Netko will be forever remembered for the many missions that he completed. You, Andrew completed a very important mission by gathering and sharing his story.”

As part of the Veteran’s Day Essay Contest award, Andrew was presented with three history books for his personal library. Additional copies were also provided to All Saints Catholic School in honor of Andrew’s winning essay.