A special ceremony was held at the Strathmore Legion on Thursday to commemorate the 80th anniversary of D-Day.

According to the Alberta government, close to 1,100 Canadian soldiers were killed during the Normandy invasion.

Donovan Arnaud, the president of the legion, says today's ceremony is an act of remembrance for those who lost their lives.

"I for one served in the Royal Canadian Navy for 25 years. I was very fortunate, even though I was a combat seagoing officer, never to have fired a shot in anger. Many cannot say that."

Arnaud told us over a million people from Canada served during World War II.

"We only had a population of a little less than 12 million people. Almost 10 per cent of our population was actually actively involved in uniform in the war effort."

Almost 150,000 allied troops stormed the beaches of Normandy on D-Day, including 14,000 Canadians, with total allied casualties reaching more than 10,000.