Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, joined by foreign dignitaries and veterans took part in an elaborate commemoration in Portsmouth, U.K. on the eve of D-Day. The ceremony took place mere metres from where thousands of Canadian, American and British soldiers boarded a flotilla of ships exactly 75 years earlier. The ceremony charted the course of the war in Europe. Along the way, actors and dignitaries recited sombre diary entries and letters written by those who had fought — and in some cases died — in the war. At one point, Trudeau took the stage to recount the story of Lt.-Col. Cecil Merritt for his role in saving fellow Canadian soldiers during the raid on the French port of Dieppe in August 1942. The Allied invasion of Normandy involved nearly 150,000 troops — including 14,000 Canadian soldiers — who stormed ashore in the face of German machine gun fire. Before the day ended, 359 Canadians had been killed and another 715 wounded or captured. The battle for Normandy would continue for another two months and cost more than 5,000 Canadian lives. The ceremony also featured accounts from U.S. and British soldiers as well as addresses by U.S. President Donald Trump, French President Emmanuel Macron and the Queen. World leaders will continue the commemorations in Normandy, including at Juno Beach, the eight-kilometre stretch of coastline where the Canadians came ashore.