MINOT, ND (KXNET) — Some aspiring poets took part in Minot State's second annual Veterans Day Poetry Contest. The contest took place last week, and the winners were announced on Veterans Day. There were 12 participants this year, there were only three last year. Students, faculty, and members of the community competed in their own individual categories. Each entry had to be under 50 words with the theme "What I have to say about the U.S. military." Director of the Military Resource Center for Minot State University, Andy Heitkamp, says the contest is a great way to educate people about the military. "It's just an opportunity, like I said, to help educate people about the military. People around in the community here and for some people, they don't realize some of the differences or things within their family and so we're in higher education it's supposed to be our job to educate people," said Heitkamp. Each winner from the four categories of the contest won $20. Watch for fake legal requests in your email Here are the results: The Student winner is: Valeria DeVilla A child without a grave "I sang your favorite lullaby, my voice steadyas you polished the worn leather of my boots.Your smile was wide, your hugs strong,and that’s all I could hold of youbefore —BOOM!I held you on my shoulder as you slipped further into silence. "Can you hear me?! Please, don’t leave me!"I screamed until my voice cracked, but only the desert echoed back.You were gone… and what I held were just fragments —limbs falling apart like broken machinery. The bomb had stolen you, and I am a lone shadow in this boundless wasteland, with no vengeance left to give.So, I walk, and laugh, and pretend to live, with the memory of you piercing my skinI wake up gasping, drenched in terror of hearing you scream. Today, I am 53. But without you, my friend, I am forever 23. The Faculty winner is: Laura Zucca-Scott Paisà – Countryman It was 1945My father and his mom were trying to survive in ItalyThe U.S. soldiers were calling my father, “Paisà”and giving him lots of candy barsHe was a ten-year-old war orphan, one of too manyThe soldiers were smiling at himThey wore elegant uniforms and shiny shoesMy father did not know if he could trust themThe Nazi occupation was still fresh in his mindas were the air raids and the bombingsThe whole city was rubbleYesterday, these soldiers were the enemyToday, they were the liberatorsMy father knew his dad was never coming homefrom the Nazi concentration campHis dad had died of starvation, they saidIt is hard to be a man when you are a childA U.S. Army colonel looked at himHe must have seen something in his eyesThe colonel already had grey in his hairHe handed him two giant Hershey chocolate barsand said softly, “Kid, it never gets easier.I lost my son in this war.Nothing is ever the same.”My father still remembers the American soldiersThey called him “Paisà” The Community and Overall selection is: Michelle Nitengale His Jackboots The contrast to my something blue.Heaviness;their steel weight, broken toes,Absence.Love Notes on the Tongue,shedding singing sand.Coyote boots to carry him swiftly,Up-laced with a new meat tag.My heart marching beat,Left… right… left… A negative.I know my husband’s boots. SPECIAL RECOGNITION: Middle School entry “To the Veteran” We thank the ones who serve,we thank their sacrifice.You give what none deserve,Too much you give; one can’t be precise.How could you work,While others at Play?Is that your quirk,To be the sun in the Day?You are the hug,When we cry.How did we only shrug,When you have been shy?You are the music,In our hearts.The medicine when we’re sick,Help us learn our parts.We thank the ones who serve,we thank their sacrifice.You give what none deserve,Too much you give; one can’t be precise. Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Today's Top Stories SIGN UP NOW