Photo: Mike Macklin/WBZ NewsRadio
QUINCY, Mass. (WBZ NewsRadio) — The city of Quincy held a parade and ceremony on Monday in honor of Memorial Day.
The parade started at 10:30 a.m. at the Quincy Credit Union and ended at Mount Wollaston Cemetery, with one stop at First United Parish Church for a wreath-laying ceremony.
A marching band performed the numerous military anthems of the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines and Coast Guard during the event.
Directly following the parade was the Memorial Day Ceremony. It was led by Judge Jeffrey Clifford, who enlisted in the Marine Corps at 18 years old and fought in Iraq. He later enlisted in the Marine Reserves after Sept. 11, 2001.
“Your soldiers, sailors, airman, Marines, Coast Guardsman, they use those skills and abilities to protect; to protect our way of life and to protect our loved ones,” Clifford said. “We are the bastion of liberty and hope for the world because of the sacrifices of our brave men and women.”
Read More: Bostonians Share Their Plans For Memorial Day
Mayor of Quincy Tom Koch also spoke at the ceremony, furthering Judge Clifford’s message of honoring those who gave their lives for the U.S.
“There are names in those monuments; they’re not just names, those are people who lived here, went to school here and offered and went on to serve their nation and did not come home,” Koch said. “Quincy is a special place, one of the reasons it's so special is because the veterans, every generation stepped up to defend the flag we see behind, so to all our veterans out there, we say thank you.”
WBZ NewsRadio’s Mike Macklin (@mikemacklinwbz) reports.