The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. A burial site on top of a hill overlooking Washington D.C. A burial site for an unidentified American soldier who served in World War I. Signs read “silence and respect.”

As my group of eighth grade students and I approach the site, along with our parents and guardians for our field trip to Washington D.C.. We silence ourselves. No one is forcing us to be quiet—it’s out of respect to The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

Silencing ourselves shows our respect to the soldier through self-control. Our silence was our thanks to that soldier who lost his life in World War I fighting for us.One of the rights this soldier sacrificed his life for was our freedom of speech.

Freedom of speech means being able to freely express yourself and your thoughts without being punished. No one can control or make you say anything; it’s your decision what you say or what you choose not to say.

As we stand in silence surrounding The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, it’s time for each of us to reflect on what this soldier did for us. Being in such proximity to a brave soul who lost their life was one of the most impactful events to happen in my lifetime.

I paid my respect and thanks to this soldier by being there and being in that soldiers presence. In silence.

My peers and my silence was our gratitude and thanks to the soldier in The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Although we have the freedom of free speech, we chose to be silent. We chose not to execute our right. We paid our respect to The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

Freedom of speech can also be shown through praying, bowing your head, saluting a soldier, or simply expressing your gratitude towards someone verbally. Freedom of speech can be shown in many ones; we chose the best one for this situation: silence.