06/26/2026
This is the speech I gave Sunday evening at Missouri Boys and Girls State.
Good evening, citizens of the 2026 Missouri Boys and Girls State!
Fellow alumni, distinguished guests, counselors, and especially you—the young men who have just begun this remarkable week building a model democracy right here on this campus—thank you for allowing me to speak to you this evening. My name is Tim Surdyke, Missouri Boys State Class of 1982. It is an honor and a privilege to stand before you as an alumnus, and on Father’s Day, as a proud father of alumni of both Boys and Girls State. My son Tom in 2014, and my daughter Rosemary in 2019.
Boys and Girls State can change your life. Here you will learn principled leadership, and the strength required to serve something greater than yourself. You arrived here as promising young men and women, and over the coming week you will be forged as leaders by debate, elections, compromise, and camaraderie. Today, I want to share the story of someone my son, Tom,who embodied the very best of what this program represents.
Tom came to this program just as you did—eager, idealistic, ready to dive into the elections, the debates, and the late-night discussions about what it means to be a citizen. He loved it. Boys State reinforced in him the values we tried to instill at home: duty, honor, humility, and faith in God. On the way home from Boys State, he told his mom and I that he wanted to serve his country as an officer in the United States military, to protect those who could not protect themselves.
That decision, made here at Boys State, led Tom to receive an appointment to the United States Military Academy at West Point, where he became a cadet in the Class of 2019. He quickly understood that the Long Gray Line is not just about military tradition; it’s about character. It’s about being the kind of officer who puts the welfare of others first, who lives by “Duty, Honor, Country” not as a slogan, but as a daily reality.
Ten years ago this week, on June 24, 2016, while on a short leave between Air Assault School and Summer Field Training, Tom and another young man were caught in a dangerous riptide. The other swimmer could not swim. Without hesitation, Tom went to his aid. He kept that young man’s head above water, fighting the current, but exhausting himself in the process. Rescuers reached them. The young man survived. Tom did not. His last act was to push the other young man up onto a paddle board that had come to assist, pushing himself under water for the last time. He clung to life for several days before passing on June 28. He was just 18 years old—born on the Fourth of July, laid to rest on the on his 19th Birthday, and this country’s 240th, at West Point, alongside his brothers in the Long Gray Line.
In the days, weeks, and years that followed, we heard countless stories about Tom—Just days before he gave his life, while watching the movie “We Were Soldiers” with his fellow Air Assault School graduates, he leaned over to his best friend and said, “When I die, I hope it is saving someone else, and I want them to sing that song.” The story about the song is for another time, but it was sung. I suggest to you all to watch the movie with your fathers when you get home from this week.
In those final moments, Tom lived out the words of Scripture: “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” His deep and abiding faith in God gave him the courage to act selflessly when it mattered most.
Wall Street Journal columnist Bill McGurn captured this beautifully in his article “A West Pointer Comes Home.” Bill had met Tom shortly before, visiting a fellow cadet’s family after church. He wrote of Tom as a young man who “radiated decency and strength.” As a father himself, Bill’s mind turned to his own daughters. He thought: “How splendid it would be… if one day I were to open my front door to someone calling on one of my three daughters—and find standing before me a young man like this one.”
That line has stayed with me. It perfectly describes the kind of man Tom was: trustworthy, strong, humble, and good. The kind of young man any parent would hope their daughter meets. The kind of citizen our country desperately needs more of. Tom wasn’t perfect, but he was striving every day to be better, to serve better, to love God and neighbor more fully. His humility kept him grounded; his faith kept him anchored; his dedication to service defined him.
Citizens of Missouri Boys State, as you embark on this week and step into the experiences ahead, that is the challenge I lay before you. Be the kind of young men and women that parents dream their children will bring home. Be the kind of leaders who act not for applause, but because it is right. Serve not because it’s expected, but because you genuinely care about those who cannot help themselves. Lead with humility, because true strength doesn’t need to boast. And root yourselves in faith, so that when the riptides of life come, you have the moral courage to, as the West Point Cadet Prayer states, “Choose the harder right instead of the easier wrong.”
This program is about more than mock elections and city governments. It’s about forging the character that sustains a republic. As the American Legion reminds us through Boys and Girls State, each individual has the power to change the world. Tom proved that in the most profound way. One selfless act in the surf saved a life and inspired countless others. His legacy lives on through the Cadet Thomas Surdyke Memorial Foundation, and through the example he set for all of us.
To the Class of 2026: You now stand on the shoulders of alumni like your counselors, like me, and like Tom. Honor that by carrying what you learn here this week into your schools, your communities, and your future service—whether in the military, public office, business, or everyday citizenship. Debate vigorously but respectfully. Compete hard but fairly. Build friendships that last. And remember that the real test of this experience isn’t who wins the election for governor this week—it’s who you become in the years ahead.
As you go through this week and then on to college, careers, military service, or wherever your path leads, carry Tom’s example with you. Be the young men and women who knock on doors—not just for dates, but as citizens ready to serve your communities, your state, and your nation. Be the leaders who put others first. Be the faithful servants who trust in God’s providence.
Missouri Boys and Girls State, thank you for remembering Tom and for continuing this vital work. And to you, the citizens here today: make us proud. The future of our republic depends on men of character like the one my son strove to be.
God bless you, God bless Missouri Boys and Girls State, and God bless the United States of America.
Thank you.
