Coming Sunday, read Johnson's essay in the Chapel Hill Herald

By Dan E. Way

dway@heraldsun.com; 419-6654



Samuel, an 11th-grade home-schooled student whose home is alternately known as Harbor Light Academy, has won the N.C. Veterans of Foreign Wars Voice of Democracy competition after winning district honors previously.

His entry was an audio-essay recording titled "Does America Still Have Heroes?" and centered on courage and gallantry among military personnel from George Washington to troops who have sacrificed their lives in Iraq.

His entry is now under consideration along with entries from every state for the national award. Besides competing for the top award of a $30,000 scholarship, he is competing for other national scholarships valued at $1,000 to $16,000.

In one section of his essay, Samuel wrote:

"We have all heard of Washington's heroic service in founding America. Equally inspiring to me are my grandfather's stories of bravery from World War II as part of 'The Greatest Generation.' Yet today, the word 'hero' has been cheapened; famous actors and athletes are called heroes in pop-culture. But they are not heroes. This prompts us to ask, does America still have heroes? What, exactly, is a hero?"

He concludes by answering in the affirmative, calling U.S. military personnel today's heroes:

"When I can enjoy a peaceful day with my family and learn in a stable environment, it is because of these brave men and women who fight to keep us free. I am grateful for the sacrifices these true heroes have made, which secure the liberties we cherish."

Sue Johnson, mother of the 16-year-old essayist, is understandably proud of her son's accomplishment.

"This is the first year Samuel has participated in the contest," she said. "It was a wonderful surprise that he advanced all the way to state and won the North Carolina contest."

But Samuel didn't always have the gift of public speaking -- at least not the knowledge that he actually possessed it.

Sue Johnson said the family has a friend who is a speech coach who does competitive speech and debate. He was a member of a group called SpeakOut in Cary that is geared mostly for home-schooled students. He suggested Samuel join. Samuel did.

"He really found that he loved it," Sue Johnson said. "He went to a moot court camp at Patrick Henry College in Virginia" in 2008. "He went to that camp just because he had gotten more interested in debating at home. ... He loved researching and being able to argue his point."

Sue Gray, coach of SpeakOut, had daughters who competed in previous years in the Voice of Democracy contest and advised the Johnsons about it.

"He spent a couple of months thinking about what he might want to do in his essay," Sue Johnson said. Samuel researched books and Medal of Honor sites online in preparation for his essay, which could not be more than five minutes in spoken form.

Samuel hopes to attend Patrick Henry College and eventually to go to law school.