CALEDONIA — As Maggie Wester read her essay aloud for Glen and Pat Freeman in their living room, they sat transfixed.
“For decades,” said Maggie, 18, “our country has been watched over and protected by the most chivalrous and admirable soldiers. These soldiers, both men and women, serve our country with a noble and selfless attitude.”
One of the Freemans” sons, Army Staff Sgt. Brian Freeman, was on foot patrol south of Baghdad when a car bomb exploded and killed him on Nov. 7, 2005. He was 27.
“When I think about our nation”s military,” Maggie continued, “I consider them to be much more than just brave. I believe that the men and women who serve in the United States military are undoubtedly the most courageous people in the world.”
Maggie went on for about five more minutes praising American troops for their dedication to the country.
“It”s very good,” Pat Freeman said as soon as Maggie was finished. She clapped her hands three or four times.
When she and her husband first read Maggie”s essay, they both cried. So did their daughter, Lisa Ann Nichols, of Jasper, Ala.
Glen Freeman liked the wording. “The person who wrote that wrote it from the heart,” he thought after reading it.
“It really touched me,” he said, “and it touched our family.”
They found it so good, it earned Maggie a $1,500 scholarship, through this year”s essay contest in honor of Brian Freeman.
Brian”s parents, who were longtime employees at the Caledonia schools — he drove a school bus, and she worked in the cafeteria — have been giving the Caledonia High School student who submits the best patriotic essay of 500 words or longer a $1,500 scholarship for college since 2006.
The scholarship money comes from a fund comprising donations from people around the country.
Maggie”s essay, entitled “A True Hero,” was the best of the 12 the Freemans received this year, Glen Freeman said. And “there were several good ones this year,” Pat Freeman said.
Although they select the winning essay by assigning each one a number and sealing an envelope containing the name corresponding to each number, ensuring anonymity and fairness, it so happens the Freemans have known Maggie for years.
They saw her often at school. Sometimes she was pitching at a softball game. “She”s a good athlete,” Glen Freeman said.
Her interaction with the Freemans inspired the essay.
“When I met these two,” she said, “I found out more about their situation. And I saw them at their hardest times, and I saw how difficult it really was.”
Maggie, the daughter of D”Anne Wester and sister to 16-year-old Evan and 14-year-old Garrett, said she has no friends or relatives who have fought in the war.
The essay took Maggie a long time. She wrote only after brainstorming, and then she edited. “It took me a long time to make it sound exactly the way I wanted it to sound,” she said.
Maggie was the valedictorian of her graduating class at Caledonia High School. She maintained a 4.0 GPA throughout her time there. Aside from the Freemans” scholarship, she received two others.
In the fall, Maggie will attend Mississippi College in Jackson, where she will receive a full ride. (She hopes to save her scholarship money.) She plans to major in biology as a pre-med student. Once she graduates, she may go to the University of Mississippi Medical Center, before going on to become a pediatrician or trauma doctor.
“She can do just about what she wants to do,” Glen Freeman said.
The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.
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