[caption id=“attachment_9344” align=“aligncenter” width=“500”]A young girl points to her award winning artwork A young girl points to her award winning artwork.[/caption]

In honor of April’s ‘Month of the Military Child,’ the USO of Hampton Roads and Central Virginia (USO HRCV) held a unique contest to engage local children and raise awareness of the USO’s mission.

For the third year, the USO HRCV called on all school-age children in the area to compete in an art contest that turns the winning artworks into panels that will be displayed in the Richmond International Airport.

The children, ages 5 to 18, were instructed to create illustrations that incorporated a patriotic theme. On Monday, April 29, USO HRCV announced the winners of their contest. This year, winners were from Hampton, Chesterfield, Prince George, Henrico, and Hanover counties.

See the slideshow below for a look at some of the winners as they display their beautiful and patriotic creations.

[gallery type=“slideshow” ids=“9348,9347,9346,9343,9345,9344”] – Sarah Camille Hipp, Communications Specialist