D-Day 80th anniversary recognized at Military Museums in Calgary

The Military Museums in Calgary is commemorating the 80th anniversary of D-Day with two events.

At 8:30 a.m. on Thursday, the museum is hosting a free, public gathering outside the main entrance at the Eternal Flame monument.

Guest speakers are expected to give remarks, and the concert choir from the adjacent Masters Academy & College is scheduled to perform.

"We will have one veteran … who was actually in Italy at the time of D-Day," said Dave Peabody, manager of the Military Museums.

"Hopefully, he will be speaking, but as he is getting up there, we'll see how he's doing tomorrow morning."

In the evening, military historian and author David Bercuson is giving a lecture about the role Canadian soldiers played in the Normandy invasion.

The museum is also screening the docudrama Storming Juno, which follows three Canadian soldiers through the invasion of Juno Beach.

Tickets to the lecture and film screening are sold out.

The museum also created a new exhibit to mark 80 years since D-Day, which opened last month.

Photos, artifacts and a poem written by a soldier are all part of the exhibit.

The Sir Winston Churchill Society is also hosting a commemoration dinner at Heritage Park to mark the anniversary.

The great-grandson of Sir Winston Churchill is expected to attend and give an address.