Ms President US, Ridgefield 7th Grader Namya Chouhan's Veterans Day Speech

This morning, Ms President US, Namya Chouhan, a student at SRMS, spoke eloquently and articulately at Ridgefield's Veterans Day Ceremony as she thanked the men and women who paid the ultimate price for our freedom. Please see her complete speech below.

Good Morning everyone, my name is Namya Chouhan, and I am a 7th grader at Scotts Ridge Middle School. Today, I would like to talk about an especially important day. Today is a day of courage, sacrifice and freedom. Veterans Day is a public holiday held on the anniversary of the end of World War I (November 11) to honor US veterans and victims of all wars. It was originally called Armistice Day. This day marks the end of World War 1, the day the Germans and the Allies of World War 1 signed a treaty to stop the war. It is an incredibly important day, but to many kids my age, I know that Veterans Day is just another day off. Until not too long ago, it was that way for me too. But now, I know that Veteran's Day is so much more than just a day off from school. It’s a day when we honor those who served their country. They went through smoke and fire just to make sure that their country would not be undefended. Those brave men and women are heroes. They’re what we call Veterans, those we honor on Veterans Day.  

We recognize them, and the scars many still carry from their days serving. It is truly incredible, what things some of these veterans have gone through. I think it is amazing that they still continue forging forward, despite the hardships they’ve faced. They are living legends, and we can all learn a thing or two from them. One of the many lessons they have taught us is that freedom is something that is not bought, but earned. It is something to fight for, and that is what these men and women have done. Freedom is the gift our Veterans have given the country. We are here because they were there.

 As Franklin D. Roosevelt once said, “We, too, born to freedom, and believing in freedom, are willing to fight to maintain freedom. We, and all others who believe as deeply as we do, would rather die on our feet than live on our knees.”

So thank you, veterans. Thank you for your service.

Read HamletHub's Veterans Day story here.