A 100th anniversary celebration in Calgary honors a Second World War veteran.

Bill Wilson looks back fondly but shows no signs of stopping as he completes a century.

“A hundred years is a long time. Lots of memories,” says Wilson, who was a gunner aboard HMCS Ottawa.

Born in 1924 in Winnipeg, Wilson joined the Navy at the age of 13.

At 19, he was a gunner on D-Day.

“All those kids are dead. They were kids,” he said from his High River home.

Wilson says his biggest influences were his parents, his love of reading and the Navy.

“Either you worked together or, if it ended up sucking, you ended up swimming together,” he says.

This ability to work with others has led him to take on several roles.

“I have worked in every city in Canada. I have lived in four provinces,” he says.

Wilson was a long-time CPR employee, director of transportation for the 1988 Olympics and a leader in the creation of the Naval Museum of Alberta.

“He was one in a million. A million people served in Canada during (the Second World War), but since then he’s been one in a million. He’s so unique in what he was able to accomplish.” said Scott Hausberg, President of the Naval Association of Canada – Calgary.

Wilson’s family and friends describe him as humble, dedicated to the Navy and say he always has a project going.

“He just finds things to do. He will never say anything, he just does things for the good of Canada and the Navy,” explains his wife, Phyllis Wilson.

Wilson’s first wife has died but he will celebrate his 50th wedding anniversary with Phyllis in January.

He had a son with his first wife, and Phyllis had three children when the two married.

The two also have eight grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.

Wilson says turning 100 is just another day.

He says it’s the people who matter most.

“The only time I think about age is when I think about the people I’ve had the pleasure of knowing over the years,” he says.

Wilson says the world is completely different now and, in some ways, it’s scary.

But he appreciates that there is greater awareness of differences.

Not like when he started in the Navy.

“You can’t be agnostic; you’re Protestant or Catholic. Today it makes no difference, you recognize that there are probably fifty different religions and you accept that,” he says.

“That’s a major difference. You don’t always understand but you know they exist, whether you respect them or not depends on how you were raised.”

He hopes that future generations will learn about Canada’s history and not forget the sacrifices people have made for the country.

Although his birthday is November 5, Wilson will be overseas then. A private party was therefore organized on October 25 at HMCS Tecumseh.

The Mayor of Calgary and the Prime Minister are expected to speak.