Patriot's Pen Award

The Patriots Pen contest is once again upon us. The theme for this year's contest is "How Can I Be A Good American?" It is never too early for you go into the schools; make yourself known to the faculty and explain the program and tell them the benefits for their students in participating in the program.

The following deadlines are pertinent:

October 31, 2023 - Student entries to be received by the post - this is a hard deadline set by National.

Patriots Pen Student Entry Form (Click to Download)

What Is Patriot’s Pen?

Conducted nationwide, this VFW-sponsored youth essay competition gives students an opportunity to write essays expressing their views on an annual patriotic theme. We invite you to join the more than 120,000 students who participated last year in this contest. The national winners will receive at least $500. The first-place national award is currently $5,000 plus an all-expense paid trip to Washington, D.C., for the winner and a parent or guardian.

The National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP) has again approved this contest for its National Advisory List of Contests and Activities.

Big National Prizes

National awards total: $55,000
Prizes include the various amounts listed below:

1st: $5,000
2nd: $4,000
3rd: $3,500
4th: $2,750
5th: $2,500
6th: $2,000
The Internal Revenue Service requires that any recipient that receives more than a $599 award should receive a Form 1099 identifying the proceeds as taxable. This may require the winner to provide their social security number.

How Does the Contest Work?

All entries begin at the Post level. The only exception is where schools/classes/ youth groups have large numbers of students and wish to conduct their own competition, submitting one winner for each 15 students to the local VFW Post competition. Individual students may submit their entry directly to the Post. This participating Post should be within your local area and within your U.S. state of residence.

The contest consists of four levels. The first level (entry) is sponsored by local VFW Posts. Post winners advance, one for every 15 entries, to the VFW District (regional) level where the one first-place winner is advanced to the VFW Department (state) level. The one first-place winner at the Department level is then advanced into the VFW national competition. The winner from each Department (state) then competes for the national prizes.

Who Can Enter?

Patriot’s Pen is open to 6th-, 7th- and 8th-grade students enrolled by the Oct. 31 deadline in public, private or parochial schools in the U.S., its territories or its possessions. Home-schooled students also are eligible. Although U.S. citizenship is not required, students must be lawful U. S. permanent residents or have applied for permanent residence (the application which has not been denied) and intends to become a U.S. citizen at the earliest opportunity allowed by law. Dependents of U.S. military or civilian personnel in overseas schools can participate, too. (Foreign exchange students and former winners that placed in the National contest are excluded from the contest.)