Understanding the cost of freedom was a theme in the speech of New Prague’s Memorial Day speaker, Chief Master Sergeant Jamy Tikalsky, Monday, May 25, during ceremonies at the New Prague Veterans Memorial.
Tikalsky dedicated 31 years to serving the U.S. She served in the U.S. Air Force and the Minnesota Air National Guard. During her career, she supported multiple military operations, including Operation Desert Shield, Operation Desert Storm and Operation Enduring Freedom.
Tikalsky said while deployed in Afghanistan she came to understand the true cost of freedom. “It was there I found risks are not abstracts,” she said.
For her and the others in the U.S. Armed Forces in Afghanistan they became a family, they laughed together and spent time together. It made it difficult when word came someone had died and their body was being sent home. “We would stand in silence and watch the flag draped vehicle pass by as a solider was going home for the last time,” Tikalsky said.
To see more on this story pick up the May 28, 2026 print edition of The New Prague Times.