Ceremonies were held around the world Friday to mark the 70th anniversary of D-Day and to pay tribute to the 359 Canadians who fought and died on June 6, 1944.

Fred Turnbull landed on the beaches of Normandy at the age of 19. He had enlisted in the Royal Canadian Navy two years earlier.

“The thing I remember most is the noise from our own ships, from our battle ships,” he recalls. “They were firing 16-inch shells into France, into the beach and we had to go under their guns on the way to the beach.”

Seventy years later, he remembers the confusion of the day like it was yesterday.

“As you went in you figured, this isn't going to work,” says Turnbull.

Roy Van Buskirk was also with the Royal Canadian Navy and has his own memories and reflections of D-Day.

“I was a gunner and used to clean the guns and make sure they were in a good state of readiness,” says Van Buskirk.

He says he was prepared when the time came to storm the beaches.

“I was excited,” says Van Buskirk. “I knew it was going to happen, but we had been training for months and months and months.”

Van Buskirk says he didn't land on the beach. He remained offshore, but was the closest in.

“I had a couple of cracks at a German aircraft, you know, I managed to hit one one time, didn't bring it down,” he says.

As a sergeant with the Queens Own Rifles of Canada, veteran Joseph Meagher and his comrades were among the first wave to storm the beaches of Normandy.

“Well, you remember…you don’t remember anything, you’re all amped up,” says Meagher.

Seventy years later, Meagher, along with other heroes of the Second World War, were honoured with the Queen’s Legion of Honour - the highest decoration bestowed by France – a country whose history he helped to change.

“I didn’t land on D-Day, I landed a couple of days after,” says veteran Marshall Desveaux. “I remember when I woke up, there was boys around me and I remember one of them saying, ‘the boys landed in France this morning.’”           

Along with ceremonies held in France and around the world Friday, there are different events planned over the weekend to commemorate the anniversary, including tours at the Army Museum on Citadel Hill in Halifax.

“I hope they get a better understanding for life at the time and what the troops actually went through and what their life was like,” says Hal Thompson of Parks Canada.

Turnbull chronicled those times in his diary, even though he knew he wasn’t supposed to keep one during the war. He had the journal tucked away for many years, but with the encouragement from his family, he used it to write a book with one simple hope.

“For people to know about the landing craft and the navy's role,” says Turnbull.

As he watched a ceremony commemorating the 70th anniversary of D-Day, he realized the significance of that day.

“If it hadn't of worked, we probably would have been all under Mr. Hitler, or his gang, or that sort of thing,” says Turnbull.

With files from CTV Atlantic's Jackie Foster and Ryan MacDonald