Fort Meigs Elementary School fourth grader Landon Knestrick was recently awarded a scholarship by the Northwest Ohio Consortium of Coordinators for Gifted.
Landon is the son of Nathan and Christina Knestrick of Perrysburg.
The consortium annually awards five monetary scholarships of $100 to gifted students throughout northwest Ohio who demonstrate a strong passion or interest in a specific curricular area. The award provides the student with the opportunity to learn more about a topic and to go more in-depth in an area of his or her choice.
This award is open to all students identified as gifted in kindergarten through grade 12. Applicants must be from school districts with representation in NWOCCG.
Landon was notified about the scholarship opportunity by his gifted education teacher, Kristine Martz.
Applicants were required to submit two letters of reference and a 500-word essay explaining their area of interest and explain how winning the award would support their passion.
Landon’s passion is World War II history, especially pertaining to Pearl Harbor.
Landon became interested in it at the very young age of 5 after watching a documentary on PBS about the USS Arizona. It was after watching that documentary that he had the wish of wanting to meet one of the survivors featured, Donald Stratton. In fact, it became his Christmas wish that year.
That initial wish turned into a friendship that spanned several years and included encounters in Washington D.C., Hawaii and Colorado. A PBS commercial featured the pair attending Pearl Harbor celebrations and historical events together.
When Mr. Stratton died in 2020, Landon was asked to be a speaker at the funeral. He spoke after the Secretary of Defense at the ceremony.
Landon plans to use the scholarship money to purchase books about Pearl Harbor for each of the schools in the Perrysburg School District.
In addition, he will present to the members of NWOCCG at a future meeting. He will share his insights of how this scholarship award has enriched his passion and allowed him to continue to teach others about Pearl Harbor, and especially his hero, Donald Stratton.
Landon’s scholarship essay
Many people wait their whole lives to meet their hero. I was lucky enough to meet mine at the age of 5. I was watching a documentary on Pearl Harbor, and when a man by the name of Donald Stratton came on I said that I wanted to meet him.
Donald Stratton was a Seaman 1st class on the USS Arizona on 12/7/1941, the day when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. He was burned badly but he went back to boot camp and got back into the war on the USS Stack. It became my Christmas wish that year to meet him. My mom did some research and got in touch with Nikky Stratton, Donald Stratton’s granddaughter and Randy Stratton, Donald’s son. The Stratton Family helped to make my Christmas wish come true that year when I got to “meet” Donald when he and I FaceTimed in 2016 when Donald was in Hawaii for the 75th anniversary of Pearl Harbor. Then, I got to meet him in person in July of 2017 in Washington, D.C. PBS was there to film our first meeting, and made a commercial from it which still airs today. Later that year, I got to meet him again in Hawaii during the 76th Anniversary of Pearl Harbor, where our family were guests of the Stratton Family.
In 2018, we traveled to Colorado Springs, Colorado, for the dedication of the Donald G. Stratton bridge. Donald died in 2020, and I got to speak at his funeral. I promised Donald that I would help keep the memory and legacy of Pearl Harbor alive. One way I can do that is by teaching others about Pearl Harbor. I would use the money from the scholarship to get books about Pearl Harbor and WWII for the Perrysburg School District, including Donald’s book, “All the Gallant Men.” The books would teach other kids about Pearl Harbor and WWII.
Thank you for considering my essay for the scholarship and helping keep the legacy of Donald and his fellow crewmates alive.