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The Baltic nation, bordered by Poland and Latvia, was overrun by the Germans in 1941 and conquered by the Soviet Union later in World War II. An estimated half-million Lithuanian nationals were either sent away to prison camps or killed. The fortunate few were able to make it to a displaced-persons holding center, from which they could later emigrate to another nation.

For those left behind, it was a nightmare of fear in which they couldn't freely practice religion or speak out against the government.

Kudautaite, thankfully, knew none of this violence firsthand. She was born in 1992, the year after Russia withdrew from Lithuania.

Nevertheless, the chilling stories told to her by relatives about the atrocities they experienced under communism have had a deep impact on her beliefs.

These have become overtly apparent in an essay she wrote and submitted for the Veterans of Foreign Wars' Patriot Pen contest. The competition, sponsored by Plainfield Post 6869, encourages junior high and middle school students to choose a patriotic topic and to compose a short summary of its significance to the writer. The winner goes on to the state level and then to the national finals in Washington, D.C.

Kudautaite recently won the district contest with her entry, titled "Citizenship." The words were penned last summer as she reflected on the gruesome accounts of terror her ancestors felt in their homeland.

An especially spine-curdling moment came, she said, when her grandmother told her of the day the Russians broke into their house in Vilnius, Lithuania. Everyone ran to a secret underground room and hid in silence. Finally, when they thought all was clear, she (Kudautaite's grandmother) snuck upstairs and peeked out a small window.

"She saw a little boy running down the street, and he was crying, 'God, help me!'" Kudautaite said. "Everybody was so scared."

Her grandmother, whose family stayed together, was one of the lucky ones. Her great-grandfather was not. He was rounded up by the Soviet Army and banished to a forced labor camp in Siberia. He was never seen again.

Kudautaite felt an obligation to write about the privileges given by freedom and the duty we should feel to assist others.

"Citizenship means people helping each other in times of crisis," she wrote. "It means making your own choices."

She went on to elaborate about her passionate belief in this independence, outlining the fundamental rights that, in her view, human beings around the world should be able to enjoy.

"People should be allowed to believe in what they want to," she wrote. "I hope that (through this essay) people will learn to think about what it would be like to not be able to practice religion or speak about government."

Dainius, her father, knows all about this, as well. He came to the United States intending only to visit, but when he breathed the air of freedom and saw an opportunity for a job, he stayed until enough money had been raised to bring the rest of the family to America. That joyous reunion came in 2000.

Gerda Kudautaite is just as proud of her Lithuanian roots as she is of the liberties provided by her adopted country. She has been a member of the Lithuanian Folkdancers in Lemont since her first day in Plainfield and regularly attends Lithuanian history and cultural classes to maintain the arts and customs of the old country. For her, it's a way of honoring those who suffered for so many years.

"It helps me to appreciate freedom," she said.

Stanley Paulauskas, commander of Post 6869, a fellow Lithuanian-American and a veteran of the Vietnam War, certainly believes she does. He is the leader who helped judge the winning essays and will introduce Kudautaite in the state competition.

Paulauskas said it is great that such a young student grasps the meaning of citizenship so well. He praised her for her insight, and, to thank her for doing such a good job, presented a U.S. flag to Timber Ridge Middle School in a special ceremony this month.

"Citizenship is pride in your country; it's flying the flag. I'm sure Gerda will help raise and lower it every day," he said.