The Virginia War Memorial is seeking student entries for its Third Annual Veterans Day Essay Contest.

The contest is open to all middle and high school public, private and homeschooled students in Virginia with a winning entry selected from each age group. As 2018 is the 100th anniversary of Armistice Day, the official end of World War I, the theme of this year’s essay is “Impact” – more specifically, the impact of World War I on Virginia’s soldiers, families, communities and/or culture.

The writer of the winning essay in each age category will receive a $250 prize and the teacher of each winning student will receive $100 for use in his or her classroom. The two winning writers will read his or her essay aloud as part of the Commonwealth’s Veterans Day Ceremony in Richmond Sunday, Nov. 11. The Ceremony will be presented in association with the Virginia World War 1/World War II Commemoration Commission.

“Essays should be 500-750 words in length and must be received at the Virginia War Memorial by 11:59 p.m. EDT, Oct. 21,” said Morgan Guyer, the Memorial’s Assistant Director of Education. “This year, we again hope to receive entries from every corner of the state. This contest is an excellent opportunity to recognize and reward the best writing from our middle and high school age students.”

More information, including the entry rules and guidelines, are available online at www.vawarmemorial.org/essaycontest or by calling (804) 786-2060.