As Canadians observe Remembrance Day across the country, veterans are sharing their personal stories of military service and reflecting on what the day means to them.

Retired Capt. Brian MacDonald, who has served in the Canadian Armed Forces and the British army, commanded troops in Bosnia, and served in Iraq and Afghanistan. He now serves as an MLA for Fredericton-Silverwood in New Brunswick.

He told CTV's Canada AM on Tuesday, that every Remembrance Day he takes notice of the military traditions and culture that are on display, but it's the music that always touches him the most.

"For me it's the music," he said in an interview from the National War Memorial in Ottawa. "The ceremony here has a few key musical notes … and those are very poignant moments. They're there every year for Remembrance Day and for everyone who served in uniform they have a very special significance.

"Music is very emotional for me, and that's kind of the culminating point."

MacDonald said that, on this Remembrance Day, he's thinking about the people he served with over the years, including those who were killed in action.

"I have a personal connection to this, as do many Canadians," he said. "For me, I remember the people I served with, some of them unfortunately we're remembering here today only in spirit – they're not here with us in person."

He said that he's proud of the way Canada reacted to the recent killings of Warrant Officer Patrice Vincent and Cpl. Nathan Cirillo, noting that Canadians reacted with "typical Canadian spirit."

"We didn't overreact, and here we are a few weeks later, and we can still have a great and very fitting memorial here at Remembrance Day in Ottawa, with no substantive changes," he said.

He noted that while the deadly attacks were obviously extremely shocking to most people in this country, they haven't shaken our core beliefs.

"Luckily, it hasn't affected the way Canadians have viewed the world, and the way Canadians enjoy and celebrate and remember our sacrifices," MacDonald said.

Juno Beach on D-Day

Jim Parks, a veteran of the Second World War, was only 15 years old when he joined the Canadian Army. He lied about his age, telling recruiters he was 18 so that he could join up.

He later served with the Winnipeg Rifles and was part of the brigade that landed on Juno Beach on D-Day.

Parks' story about that fateful day is being preserved through Historica Canada's Memory Project. He also spends time speaking about D-Day with school children.

On Monday, he described the chaos of that June day in 1944, as he and his fellow soldiers landed on the beach.

"I actually had to swim in," he told CTV’s Canada AM, noting that the boat had been hit. "They popped us into the water, about 12-feet deep."

As he swam to shore, he could hear the cracks of machine gun fire going off overhead – a sound that still stays with him to this day.

"I just remember the crack, whenever there's rifle fire or machine gun fire, the crack is when it's going over your head. We used to say 'the one that doesn't crack is the one that gets you,'" Parks said.

"You're thinking about getting onto the beach and surviving. I never thought about not surviving."

When he got onto the shore there were already bodies of dead soldiers on the ground, so Parks said he and a few other soldiers cleared them out of the way because they were worried the tanks might roll over them.

Parks makes a point of returning to Juno Beach, and has returned for the 40th, 50th, 60th and 70th anniversaries of D-Day.

He said it's always an emotional experience to return to those shores. One year, he shared his story with a group of students who were also visiting. By the end of his talk he said he and the students were all in tears. "You get emotional on the beach," he said.

On Remembrance Day, Parks said he thinks of many people, but one person he always remembers is a kid from his neighbourhood nicknamed "Little Izzy," who was killed while serving overseas.

"One of the things I say to the kids today is 'On Remembrance Day think of Little Izzy and say a little prayer for him,'" he said.

Parks, now 90, said he feels it's important to share his story, as well as the stories of the soldiers who did not survive.

"We can portray and say things on their behalf that's the main thing," he said.

"I have all these pictures I show. I can say to (the students): 'Look at all these nice looking guys, they could have been your uncle, they could have been your father. But they're not longer here, but they could've been.'"

What does Remembrance Day mean to you? What do you think about on this day? Tweet us your thoughts using the hashtag #IRememberBecause.