Editor’s Note: The following is a speech delivered by Haddam-Killingworth Middle School student Christian Baldyga at the Higganum/Haddam Memorial Day ceremony on May 25, 2026.
In the words of Admiral William F. Halsey, “There are no extraordinary men … just extraordinary circumstances that ordinary men are forced to deal with.” In the course of our nation’s history, millions of ordinary men and women have fought and died to protect our freedom, our land, our people, and our way of life.
This year marks 250 years since the Declaration of Independence was signed at the Second Continental Congress. It also marks 250 years of what one might call a tradition, kept by generations of ordinary Americans, of service to our country. Now more than ever, is it important to realize that freedom is not free. Two hundred and fifty years of freedom was not given to us, but it has been rented with the blood of our neighbors, our brothers, our fathers, and our ancestors. In the words of our 40th President, Ronald Regan, “Freedom is a fragile thing and is never more than one generation away from extinction. It is not ours by way of inheritance; it must be fought for, and defended constantly by each generation.”
Today, we do not assemble to mourn the tragedy of death, nor do we gather to celebrate our freedom, but we come together to remember those who paid for it. Those men and women were not just names, nor were they just statistics, and least of all were they just stones that fill up Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia. Those men and women were Americans. Americans from right here in Middlesex County. They were our family, they were our friends, they lived in our towns, and they once attended our schools. Those men and women did not live many long years ago. Those Americans lived in our lifetimes. They were known by many of us, they attended our churches, they worked with us, and they once watched fireworks with us on the Fourth of July.
The price of freedom is a heavy price to pay, but it has been paid in blood by ordinary Americans like you and me. The only difference being that those who paid had the courage to enlist, the gallantry to fight, and the selflessness to die in order to keep this great nation free from all those who meant harm. After all, it was Admiral Halsey who said, “There are no extraordinary men … just extraordinary circumstances that ordinary men are forced to deal with.” Thank you.
