BOSTON — Governor Charlie Baker and Lt. Governor Karyn Polito participated in the Massachusetts Military Heroes Fund Memorial Day Ceremony with Secretary of Veterans’ Services Cheryl Lussier Poppe to honor and remember our fallen military heroes in recognition of Memorial Day.

Soldiers and Sailors Monument, Boston Common, Boston, MA

May 26, 2022

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Remarks as Delivered:

GOVERNOR BAKER: “I think the fact that you call it a garden gives it a special sense of perpetuity and grace and puts forth that notion that this is ground to be tended and treated with the respect and the sense of love and devotion that it deserves.

“And I know I speak for myself and the Lieutenant Governor and everybody on our team, when I say how much those of us who get a chance to participate in this game called democracy – that we all know we sit on the shoulders of every one of these flags behind me, and the families and the stories and the histories that they represent.

“And every flag like that everywhere, all over the world – that represents a fallen serviceman or servicewoman who's died in the defense of freedom here in this country.

“The common line in this is freedom isn't free. The part we don't always say: It is profoundly expensive, in human terms and financial terms. 

“And part of what makes this event so special for me and for the Lieutenant Governor, and our team, is the walk that many of the folks who are sitting in these chairs and standing here wearing those yellow flowers will take as they come up here and remind us of the size of the human cost, and the human loss and the human sacrifice that comes with all of this.

“And to those of you who are going to take this walk today, I just want you to know that for me and for the Lieutenant Governor, it is in many ways the most powerful and impactful moment of Memorial Day weekend and has been every time we've been here to watch you walk up here and speak the name, again, of your lost loved one.

“In some respects, it's a constant reminder to all of us that it's more than just it's not free – this thing we call freedom. People pay an enormous price so that the rest of us can benefit from it.

“God bless you all. Thank you.”

In honor of Memorial Day, Governor Baker has ordered that the United States flag and the Commonwealth flag be lowered to half-staff at all state buildings from sunrise until noon and full staff from noon until sunset on Monday, May 30, 2022. The order applies to the main or administration building of each public institution of the Commonwealth, other state-owned or state-controlled buildings and all state military installations.

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