"When people talk about those who 'gave their lives' – it really upsets me to hear that expression. No one gave their lives, they had their lives taken and they risked their lives."
Ken Foster, 99, was on one of the Royal Navy ships that liberated Norway in 1945.
As he looks back 80 years on from the first VE Day, the 99-year-old veteran, from North Bradley in Wiltshire, said he is proud of his role in the conflict.
But he added: "I risked mine [his life]. But I didn't with the intention of giving it. I might have lost it."
Mr Foster joined the Royal Navy when he was just 17.
"In 1940 I was a telegram boy. Then at 16 I heard you join the boy service in the Royal Navy so I went and volunteered. My parents were furious," he said.
When it was VE day, he remembers being aboard his ship and there being rum to celebrate – but not for him. He was 19 and you had to be 20 to get the alcohol.
"I was given a glass of lime juice," he recalled.
As HMS Viceroy and other vessels headed towards Norway, minesweepers were in front of them as they approached the port at Trondheim.
Mr Foster remembered being unsure of what to expect as they approached the shore.
"We thought the Germans might want to carry on with the war."
He saw a senior German officer sitting in a deckchair, smoking, and plenty of Russian prisoners of war who were happy to see the allied forces.
Mr Foster told the BBC the living conditions on ships "were worse than the Germans". He was on a destroyer originally built in 1917 which was cold and wet.
"It was very uncomfortable. The modern sailors wouldn't accept it," he added.