Fort Knox, Ky. — Have you ever had a classroom assignment win two local-level writing competition tiers and then earn fifth place at the state level? Fort Knox High School sophomore Raina Benz has.
In October 2025, Benz and her classmates completed a writing prompt on what patriotism means to them. Upon completion of the assignment, Benz said her teacher recommended that she enter her essay in the Veterans of Foreign Wars’ annual Voice of Democracy writing competition.
Benz’s essay competed against 12 others at the VFW post and district levels – winning first place in both – before competing at the state level, where her report placed fifth.
James (Eddie) Knowles, VFW Post 10281 adjutant and Voice of Democracy post and district chair, said her essay did so well at the post level that by the time they were able to recognize her at the Vine Grove post in December she had already been selected as the district winner as well. Benz was recognized again in January for her high placement at the state level.
Benz received a certificate and cash award for both her post and district wins. The money is now funding her dual credit classes at Elizabethtown Community and Technical College.
“The part that stuck with me is that she focused on being grateful, which is very important for military children,” said Benz’s father, Lt. Col. Dereck Benz, commander of 19th Engineer Battalion, 20th Engineer Brigade. “We try to instill gratitude in the children because, quite frankly, everything we have is a gift.”
Benz said she wanted her essay to focus on how patriotism can be shown in a myriad of ways, including simply being conscientiously grateful for blessings.
In her essay, she wrote, “Though being grateful isn’t much, it improves our outlook on life. This can help us to help others.”
“When writing the essay, I heard a lot of people start talking about how they're a military child and how that makes them patriotic,” said Benz. “I really wanted to elaborate on that because being a military child doesn't make you patriotic automatically, but it does give you more opportunities to be.”
Editor's Note: To read a copy of the essay, follow the PDF link My Patriotism-Raina Benz--VFW Essay..pdf.
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