On the wall of Langley Secondary School—the high school that both Canadian Taxpayers Federation federal director Gregory Thomas and I graduated from—sits a framed, yellowing, handwritten list of about a hundred names.

The list has been there for decades, watching over teenagers as they scurry from class to class. It has seen kids wearing poodle skirts, miniskirts, bell bottoms, overalls, Guess jeans, Gap jeans, Hypercolor sweaters, Starter jackets, Mondetta shirts, and dozens of other fads. It has survived some 60 years on display in a high school, with nary a crack and never a piece of graffiti.

That list is sacred to many of us, as it details the young men of Langley, British Columbia, who went off to fight for their country in World Wars I and II.

The list itself is memorable, but the gold stars next to about a third of the names are unforgettable. Each of those stars is beside the name of a soldier who didn’t return home from that foreign battlefield. They gave their life for us. They were young people, like we were, who never had the chance for a job, a spouse, a family. They gave it all so we could have everything.

At the CTF, we are relentless with governments that waste money or shun accountability. We stand up for Canadians who want to keep their money in their pockets, and who want to be sure their governments are investing their tax dollars wisely.

We do this thanks to the sacrifice of the people listed on that high school wall. They fought for freedom, for democracy, for the right to speak out a dissenting opinion. They believed governments should be changed with ballots, not bullets. And we owe them everything.

In Aldergrove, BC, the Legion holds a parade down Veterans’ Way before their Remembrance Day celebration. There is always lots of noise and fanfare, until the veterans themselves walk down that long street. The crowd falls silent, and quietly claps their hands in deep respect. Many veterans have tears in their eyes—many spectators do too. It’s a tradition that means the world to many Canadians.

It’s a strange time for Canada. Remembrance Day ceremonies have never been better attended, as millions of Canadians will turn out tomorrow at local cenotaphs to remember the fallen. Yet Royal Canadian Legions and other veterans groups are finding it tougher and tougher to go on. You can help with that by donating $5 to the Legion’s poppy campaign simply by texting "Poppy" to 20222.

Others have been added to that roll call in Langley. We lost two young men in Afghanistan, one with an infant daughter, as the war against those who would seek to destroy everything we hold dear continues. We remember all of our veterans, from every war. Thank you for everything.

Every Remembrance Day, I think back to that list on the wall of high school, and those sad, heartbreaking gold stars. I thank God for their sacrifice, and pray neither I nor my children or grandchildren ever have to replicate it.

Lest we forget.