Joseph Vogelgesang was a 19-year-old infantryman when he landed on Juno Beach in Normandy, France.

Now aged 99, the D-Day veteran reflected on the 80th anniversary of the operation that was the beginning of the end of the Second World War, after he received FranceB次元官网网址檚 highest decoration at a ceremony in Vancouver on Thursday.

B次元官网网址淭hereB次元官网网址檚 nobody (who) wins in a war,B次元官网网址� he said.

Vogelgesang was named a Knight of the Legion of Honour to acknowledge what the French Consulate General in Vancouver called his contribution and bravery in the liberation of France.

Consul General Nicolas Baudouin, who presented the medal, said it showed B次元官网网址減rofound gratitudeB次元官网网址� for VogelgesangB次元官网网址檚 service during the war, including his contributions on D-Day.

Vogelgesang said he still vividly remembers D-Day. Almost 160,000 troops landed on the beaches of Normandy that day, including some 14,000 Canadians.

He says he wanted people to understand the cruelty of war. If they did, he said, there might be less need for the military in future.

B次元官网网址淧eople who talk about a war that have never been there do not understand what happens in a war. They just read about it or see about it, but they never realize whatB次元官网网址檚 really taking place,B次元官网网址� said Vogelgesang.

B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檇 like to see them realize that B次元官网网址� maybe we will get less military need, or maybe weB次元官网网址檒l better the whole world by doing that, realizing what war really does.B次元官网网址�

Vogelgesang, who now lives in Abbotsford, B.C., volunteered in his home province of Saskatchewan at the age of 17 and left for England in early 1944 as part of the Calgary Highlanders.

He remembers the advice he got from his superior on June 6, 1944.

B次元官网网址淢y sergeant told me, if you live for the next 48 hours, you will live for a long time, and I learned a lot in 48 hours,B次元官网网址� said Vogelgesang.

Vogelgesang was B次元官网网址渁 little overwhelmedB次元官网网址� to receive the medal, which he said he shared with the soldiers who were in the same boat during the landing on Juno Beach.

After the ceremony in St. Julien Square in Vancouver, Vogelgesang was surrounded by family at the nearby B.C. Regiment Reserve Recruiting Office.

His youngest daughter, Sharon Bunn, said ahead of the ceremony that their family was B次元官网网址渂ursting with pride and gratitudeB次元官网网址� upon hearing he would receive the French honour.

B次元官网网址淲e know that he went to the war at a very young age and nowadays, I canB次元官网网址檛 imagine how a 17- or 18-year-old would get through what he got through,B次元官网网址� said Bunn, who flew from Saskatchewan to Vancouver to join ThursdayB次元官网网址檚 ceremony.

B次元官网网址淎ll of us are very, very proud and really grateful for what he did and the sacrifices he made,B次元官网网址� she added.

Bunn said her father has hesitated to share what he went through during the war.

B次元官网网址淚 think that as you can imagine, it was difficult. He shared little, tiny bits, but nothing really graphic,B次元官网网址� said Bunn.

She said Vogelgesang, who lives in his own apartment in the Fraser Valley city, is staying up-to-date on current affairs. B次元官网网址淗eB次元官网网址檚 very no-nonsense,B次元官网网址� she said with a laugh.

Vogelgesang married his wife, Irene, in 1945 and they had three children, nine grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.

The Legion of Honour is the highest decoration bestowed by France, and more than a thousand Canadian veterans have received a medal since 2014.

The consulate general said anyone who knows a living Canadian veteran who took part in the operations on French soil can contact the French Embassy in Ottawa because they may be eligible for the medal.

FranceB次元官网网址檚 Legion of Honour was created by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1802 to reward citizens for their merits, no matter their background.

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