An essay contest for Peachtree City students will be a feature of the city's second annual Memorial Day celebration.

The Peachtree City VFW and the Kiwanis Club, with the support of the Recreation Department, will host the Memorial Day tribute Monday, May 29, at the City Hall Plaza in front of the VFW Memorial.

This year an essay contest entitled “Freedom is Never Free” will be sponsored by event organizers for students who live in Peachtree City and are in grades five through eight. Entry forms will be available at all Fayette County elementary and middle schools in Peachtree City, as well as the library, Kedron Fieldhouse and Aquatics Center, and the Recreation Administration Building off McIntosh Trail.

Deadline for the essays, between 250 and 500 words, is Friday, April 28, at 5 p.m. Contest entries can be dropped off at any of the above locations or mailed to the Recreation Department, 2000 Memorial Day Contest, 191 McIntosh Trail, Peachtree City 30269.

Three winners will be selected at each of the grade levels from all participating schools — including Peeples Elementary, Rising Starr Middle and St. Paul's Lutheran — as well as home-schooled students. Winning students will receive gift certificates and letters of congratulations from the mayor of Peachtree City, the VFW commander and the president of the Kiwanis Club.

A first, second and third place overall winner will be chosen from the final selections, and those essays will be read by the students at the Memorial Day tribute. The top overall winner will receive a $100 U.S. Savings Bond, while the next two receive $50 each.

For information, call the Recreation Department at 770-631-2542.

The guest of honor and featured speaker for this year's event is retired Marine Corps Gen. Raymond G. Davis, one of the most highly decorated Marines in history and winner of every medal for valor and heroism the country has to offer.

A four-star general and assistant commander of the Marine Corps when he retired in 1981, Davis earned the Medal of Honor, Navy Cross, Silver Star and Bronze Star, among dozens of other personal and service awards. A native of Stockbridge in nearby Henry County, he lives there now.

This year's event also will feature a display of military anti-armor equipment and weapons, a bagpipe/drum team that features precision sword and rifle drill, music by the local group Music Alive, and a VFW memorial wreath laying. There will also be the nontraditional golf cart parade from the Gathering Place to City Hall.

The public is invited. The tribute begins at 7:30 a.m. Traditional marching music will begin at approximately 7:45, with the program scheduled to run from 8-9:15. 

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