Lehighton American Legion Auxiliary Unit 314 honored four Lehighton School District students Monday night as winners of its annual essay contest.

Winners included Shannon Arnold, eighth grade; Madison Brown, fifth grade; Ethan Heiser, fourth grade; and Kylie Bandholz, eleventh grade.Students were asked to write about "What Freedom Means To My Family."The unit received nearly 275 essays for the contest."It's getting harder and harder to narrow these down because there are so many excellent choices," said Deborah DeCindio, unit president.In his essay, Heiser described freedom as something brave men and women have to fight to receive."Some lose their lives, get injured and leave their families for weeks, months or years at a time," he said. "For that I say thank you to all of the United States military and all of those who stand up for what they believe in."Brown also said her family has freedom thanks to the soldiers who fight for our country, including a few of her family members."Many people in other countries can't do some of the things we can do here," she said. "Our lives would not be the same without freedom. People would choose things for us and it would be like living in jail our whole lives."Many lives were lost while fighting for freedom, Arnold said."My family is most thankful for the freedom of speech, the freedom to receive an education and the freedom to defend ourselves and others when needed," she said. "Standing up for ourselves brings us closer together."Some look at freedom as an entitlement, while some see it as a privilege, Bandholz said."The biggest part of freedom for me is to openly practice the religion that I want to practice," she said. "In many countries, only one religion is offered and fatal results can occur if this is not followed. It's all due to the soldiers and leaders of our country."Bandholz was also named an essay contest winner by the Four County Council American Legion Auxiliary.Four County Council encompasses Carbon, Lehigh, Monroe and Northampton counties."We are always impressed by the essays that come out of the Lehighton unit," said Sue Anthony, Four County Council chairman. "They have a great reputation."Bandholz's essay now moves on to the state level for judging.