3B Essay Winners | 2019

Winning Essay, Samantha Griffin:

Can you imagine a world where war was going on every day, where peace and justice did not meet? A man helped all of that not happen. He is a man America will remember, can you guess his name? It is John Fitzgerald Kennedy. He was one of our bravest presidents.
JFK gave a lot of speeches. The one that is most meaningful to me is his Inaugural Address. He says “Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country. And so my fellow citizens of the world ask not what America can do for you, ask what you can do for the freedom of men.” I think JFK was brave during his speeches because he had to speak in front of millions of people and had to write great speeches. This is only one of the many reasons that made JFK brave.
One specific time JFK was brave was during the Cuban Missile Crisis. In October 1962 JFK found out Russians sent weapons to Cuba. There were missiles that could hit the United States at any time! JFK sent navy ships to surround Cuba and keep out any more weapons. After a few days the Russians removed the missiles. JFK and Soviet Premier Khrushchev signed a paper limiting the testing of nuclear weapons. That’s one of the many ways that made JFK brave.
The last reason why I think JFK was brave is because of a story I like to call the incident. When JFK was in the navy he directed a boat called PT 109. John and his crew were on the boat when…CRASH!!! A Japanese destroyer cut the boat in half! Jack swam for five hours to get help. He wrote on a coconut with a pocket knife and he sent it to a nearby navy base. Soon a small boat came and they were saved.
Now that we’re finished do you get why America remembers a man named John Fitzgerald Kennedy today? Those three reasons you just read are only three of the many, many reasons that made John F. Kennedy very brave. Can you think of some?

Runner-Up Essay, Nina Ghael:

JFK was a great man for his bravery. He saved many people and inspired people. JFK was a very important person that we all need to learn about.
One way that JFK was brave was when he accepted a bike challenge from his older brother Joe. They called the game “chicken”. They would ride their bikes toward each other and the first person to swerve would be considered the chicken. They started riding toward each other. Joe didn’t swerve but neither did Jack. They crashed. Jack had to get 28 stitches. This is one way that JFK was brave.
This is one of the other events that JFK showed bravery. JFK was in the Navy. He had a ship called PT 109. He and his crew were in the PT 109 at night, and without radar. This was very dangerous because radar tells you where you are and what’s around you. Suddenly a Japanese destroyer rammed the PT 109 and split it in half! 11 survived, but they were stranded for a long time. Eventually, JFK told his men that they had to swim. One man injured himself. JFK swam for five miles with the man on his back to get him safely to shore. He received two medals for his bravery.
Another way JFK was brave was when it was the Cuban Missile Crisis. The Soviet Union was putting missiles in Cuba and pointing them at the USA! The missiles could have destroyed the USA, but instead JFK used words and asked the Soviet Union to remove the missiles. He prevented what could have been war. That is very brave.
The man who prevented war. The hero who saved an injured man in the Navy. A rich person born in Brookline, Massachusetts. This was all John Fitzgerald Kennedy, the 35^th president of the USA.