Sometimes I forget where I've put my keys… my wife will scold me for not hanging them in the key box, or I'll end up scrambling throughout the house looking for them... usually they show up right where I put them. My children have often forgotten where they left their wallets, their purses, their contact lenses, and so many other objects... but we usually find them.

Some things we can forget, and it's usually not the end of the world if we do (except for forgetting your wife's birthday, or your wedding anniversary — that's a big deal!).

But there is one thing that we dare not ever forget. There's one thing that should be indelibly imprinted on our hearts. There's one thing that should never… ever... be forgotten: it's the sacrifice for you and for me that paid for our freedom and the freedom of thousands and many more.

In Canada, this week is known best as Veterans' Week. Public schools will spend time reviewing the history of World Wars I and II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War and, most recently, the conflict in Afghanistan. Students will also learn about the efforts of thousands of Canadian soldiers who have laboured in numerous peacekeeping efforts over the past 60 years, including Cyprus, Bosnia and Rwanda.

The numbers of those killed in action will be reviewed; the locations of famous battles that made Canada into a nation will be discovered; the details of those lost in action, of those wounded beyond recognition or maimed beyond repair will be highlighted; the impact upon families as letters came home after lives had been lost will be read; the pain of loss for children who became orphans will be shared; the economic impact upon nations that served as the arena for war…. yes, these details will be remembered too.

Pictures will be seen, videos watched, speeches listened to, and some will even take the time to participate in a cenotaph service near their home. For this generation of post-secondary students, it's been made very real as we have watched coffins draped in Canadian flags return home to Canada and travel Hero Highways or have been in class with students struggling with PTSD.

This year, Fanshawe College is encouraging its community to take the time on November 11 to participate in a cenotaph ceremony, in London held at Victoria Park, or to take the time to review the national service held in Ottawa. Hey, we're talking about a few moments of your day on Sunday, November 11.

We can't forget these men and women who gave up so much. We can't forget how many families have been forever changed because a soldier did not come back alive. We can't forget how many lives will never be the same now that their bodies are no longer whole…we can't forget the real cost of war.

Let me be bold for a moment... I wonder if we are forgetting when I see how conflict is more important than peaceful resolution... I wonder if we are forgetting, when I witness the weak being taken advantage of… I wonder if we are forgetting when we fail to recall the true cost of conflict and what inevitably results when we are so trivial about what we possess today: a freedom purchased with the lives of men and women who gave selflessly in defense of peace and liberty.

Take time to reflect; take time to review; take time to consider how your actions and your speech contribute, or do not, towards peace. Please don't forget. The cost is too high. Remember.

Francois Kruger is the lead Chaplain at Fanshawe College. He is an outspoken supporter of the Canadian Armed Forces and speaks regularly in support for peace in our world. His father served with the 1st Canadian Guards, 3rd Mechanized Commandos and the Royal Canadian Regiment during the Cold War Years until his premature death in 1973.