Courseulles-Sur-Mer, France ? Grayed with age but standing proud, nearly 700 Canadian veterans who fought their way ashore in the D-Day offensive to free France from the Nazis returned 59 years later Friday to open the first Normandy memorial to their sacrifice.

For decades, the strip of sand on the Atlantic Ocean code-named Juno Beach — where 21,000 Canadians landed June 6, 1944 — has been overshadowed by nearby Omaha Beach, the bloodiest D-Day battle site.

The new monument at Juno is meant as testimony to the sacrifices of all Canadians — both on the battlefield and at home — during World War II.

“Until now, there has been no Canadian memorial to mark these achievements,” Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien said at Friday’s ceremony unveiling an information center and an 8-foot-tall bronze sculpture.

“At the Juno Beach Center, our grandchildren and their grandchildren will learn what their forebears did for freedom.”

World War II veteran Dalmain Estes from Pontiac, Ill., who landed on Omaha Beach with the 1st Infantry Division on June 6, 1944, salutes as the American anthem is played during D-Day commemoration ceremonies at the Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial of Colleville-sur-Mer, France. U.S., Canadian and British troops fought their way ashore 59 years ago to liberate France from Nazi occupation.

French Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin said, “Every year on these beaches the French people honor the liberators.”

Rosslyn Hill, of Smith Falls, Ontario, cried as bagpipers played the same eerie tunes that fired up the troops as they approached the Juno beachhead.

“The Germans really knew how to fight. We took a pretty bad beating,” said Hill, 79, who landed in the first assault wave at Juno.

He lost more than two-thirds of his company on D-Day. A total of nearly 1,000 Canadians died that day.

“The only thing I remember are all the deaths,” Hill said.