Second World War veterans from the Allied invasion commemorated the 62nd anniversary of the D-Day landings on Tuesday.

The ceremonies marked the start of the invasion on Normandy's beaches that weakened Nazi Germany's grip on France and much of Europe.

On June 5, 1944, Allied forces put to sea, headed for five points along the Normandy coast code named: Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno and Sword.

While stormy weather made landing impossible, the forces decided to make their push instead on the morning of June 6.

An armada of more than 5,000 Allied vessels started depositing scores of wet, cold and tired soldiers on land.

In the early hours of the invasion, some 130,000 troops headed ashore as more than 1,000 transports dropped paratroopers aiming to secure the flanks and exits of the assault.

To the east, Canadian soldiers pressed onto Juno beach, while British soldiers landed on the Gold and Sword beaches. To the west, American forces landed on Utah beach and in the Omaha zone of the Norman countryside.

Canadian D-Day veteran Martin Maxwell was a glider pilot who was sent in on the night of June 5th. His job was to capture the six bridges behind enemy lines so that the Germans couldn't send reinforcement once the Allied forces approached.

"We were the first ones to land," Maxwell told CTV Newsnet on Tuesday. "We took the Germans by surprise."

"We ourselves saw the invasion the next morning because we had already captured these bridges and during the night thousands of parachuters landed and linked up with us," Maxwell recounted.

By the end of June 6th, about 155,000 Allied troops had landed in France by sea and air. They had also managed to land 6,000 vehicles, 900 tanks, 600 guns and about 4,000 tons of supplies. In total, more than 15,000 Canadians participated in the D-Day landing force.

On that one day, 340 Canadians died, 574 were wounded and 47 were taken prisoner. During the first six days of the Normandy campaign 1,017 Canadians died and by the end about 5,020 Canadians were dead.

"If anybody says they weren't scared, they're not telling the truth," Maxwell said.

On Tuesday, about 1,000 people attended the official D-Day ceremony in Asnelles-sur-Mer, part of Gold Beach where British soldiers came ashore.

French Veterans Minister Hamlaoui Mekachera praised the "brothers-in-arms" who died while taking part in the invasion. He said the troops from Canada, U.S., Belgium, Britain, France, Poland, the Netherlands and Norway died "to defend the cause of freedom."