— Photos by Claudia Ferro
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Somerville’s annual Memorial Day Parade was held Sunday, May 25.

The ceremonies began with a short procession down Highland Avenue to the Central Library and the placing of wreaths on monuments along Central Hill Park. The parade stepped off from the City Hall/Somerville High School and proceeded down Highland Avenue to the Veterans’ Memorial Cemetery in Teele Square. The parade concluded in Veterans’ Memorial Cemetery with a ceremony of remembrance for fallen Somerville veterans under the supervision of the Somerville Allied Veterans Council.

The parade included 15 performing groups, including new bands and performers such as The Dirty Water Brass Band, the Revolutionary Snake Ensemble, the Worcester Brass Band and the Worcester Brass Band Drum Line. As always, the parade included a wide range of community and school groups, the popular specialty units of the Aleppo Shriners and representatives of local veterans’, fire and police units from surrounding cities and towns.

The 2014 grand marshal was Col. Mark Cremin, a recently retired veteran with a 32-year military career, including two combat-zone deployments.