Updated: Sat Jun. 06 2009 17:44:25

ctvcalgary.ca

Veterans and visitors shared the 65th anniversary of D-Day with royalty at Calgary's Military Museums Saturday.

More than 600 people were there to greet the Countess of Wessex.

Her Royal Highness says Canada's role in the invasion will never be forgotten.

Sophie Rhys-Jones told the crowd she just recently learned more about Canada's contribution in the liberation of Europe.

"We found ourselves on Juno Beach where, early in the morning of June the 6th 1944, about 14-thousand Canadian troops bravely waded ashore from their ships, in a day-long assault that left 359 of them dead and 715 wounded."

Gordon Rowan was a survivor of Juno beach. His memory of friends lost never fades.

"There were so many really. A lot of kids from Calgary, and I'm a Calgarian and I remember a lot of them, the ones that were here, the ones that never came back, we still talk about it."

Aging veterans were joined at the ceremony by local air cadets like Fiona Peden.

On Sunday, Peden will receive a Duke of Edinburgh Award from Prince Edward.

"You have to go out and do explorations and expeditions and journeys and things like that. And there are three levels: bronze, silver and gold. The certificate has to be presented by someone in the Royal Family, so that's what's happening tomorrow."

The Countess of Wessex also took part in a ceremony celebrating the expansion of Calgary's Military Museums.

She says the museums pay honour to Canada's role in previous conflicts and its current mission in Afghanistan.

"While we remember the important events of the past, I find my mind turning to the events of the present, and standing shoulder-to-shoulder, in an effort to secure peace and stability in troubled places."

Following Saturday's ceremony, the hundreds of guest were invited to a royal tea.