INDEPENDENCE — A Montgomery County teenager is among the national winners in a patriotic essay contest.

Madison Freeman, an eighth grade student at Zion Lutheran School in Independence not only won the local and state levels of the VFW’s Patriot Pen Essay Contest but the local student finished in 38th place in the nation. She received a $500 savings bond for being a winner at the state level and a $1,000 savings bond for finishing among the top 40 in the nation.

“We’ve had a lot of local and state winners, but we’ve never had anyone advance this far at the national level,” said Dawn Oldenettel, Zion Lutheran School principal, who also said that seventh and eighth grade students are required to compete in the essay contest.

The theme of the VFW essay contest is “Why America’s Veterans Should Be Honored.” The theme at a personal meaning to Freeman, whose father is an Army veteran. A cousin, Corey Ashworth, is currently deployed with the U.S. Army in Iraq.

Madison is the daughter of Rick and Tammy Freeman of Independence.