Sixth Grader Follows Sister's Footsteps, Wins MLK Essay Contest

A year ago, Ronada D. Hewitt, 11, listened to her sister Samantha read her award-winning essay during DoD's Martin Luther King Jr. Pentagon breakfast. This year, Ronada stood at the podium reading her own award-winning essay.

"I feel good following after my sister," said Hewitt, a sixth-grader at Washington's John Tyler Elementary School. "Both of us are the same. We think the same most of the time, but not all of the time."

Hewitt said she wasn't nervous reading her essay before the large breakfast crowd because she's in a choir and is used to appearing in front of many people.
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Police Chief Moose Speaks at DoD's Annual King Breakfast

Charles A. Moose told the audience at DoD's 18th annual Martin Luther King Jr. annual breakfast in the Pentagon that he probably wouldn't be the police chief of Montgomery County, Md., if not for King's work and sacrifices.

He said King's actions made many things in his life possible. "I was able to attend an integrated high school," said Moose, who also serves as a major in the District of Columbia Air National Guard as commander of the 113th Security Forces Squadron.

"I didn't have to stay in a segregated environment because of the risks taken by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.," he continued. "I was able to go to an integrated University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and become a police officer.
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DoD, Nation, More Than 100 Countries Celebrate Martin Luther King Holiday

The nation will observe the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday on Jan. 20, 2003, but the Pentagon is getting an early start with a King breakfast on Jan. 16.

Other celebrations and activities surrounding the holiday are occurring on military installations throughout DoD. The Pentagon event is its 18th annual breakfast and is hosted by DoD's Washington Headquarters Service to commemorate King's life and works.

This year marks what would have been the 74th birthday of the slain civil rights leader, humanitarian and clergyman. He was born in Atlanta on Jan. 15, 1929.
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