Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 267 members march in the 2018 parade.
DEARBORN — The city will host its 96th Memorial Day Parade on May 30, following a two-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The parade is one of the largest and oldest of its kind in the United States. The last parade took place in May 2019.
It is organized by a parade committee consisting of members of the Dearborn Allied War Veterans Council, the Mayor’s Office, and the Dearborn Police Department, among other members.
“It hasn’t been easy to postpone a tradition as significant to our city as the Memorial Day Parade,” Mayor Abdullah Hammoud said, marking the parade’s comeback. “That makes this comeback all the more special.
“We look forward to honoring the service and sacrifice of our service men and women and their families, and we’re grateful for the ways in which our veteran community continues to inspire our city through public service.”
Prior to the hiatus, Hammoud had marched annually with the Safety, Addiction, Family, Education substance abuse coalition, a community group devoted to dispelling the stigma of substance use disorder and addiction.
“Our Memorial Day Parade and remembrance ceremony is an opportunity for us to remember those who fought to uphold our civil liberties and to honor their sacrifice,” said Tom Pitock, commander of the Dearborn Allied War Veterans Council. “We do it so they are never forgotten.”
Thousands of people will be able to line Michigan Avenue to watch the several community groups, service organizations, bands and local officials pay tribute.
Fatooma Saad, the city’s veterans liaison, is spearheading the outreach effort for the parade, and leading the planning and operations of the event in partnership with the DAWVC.
“The city of Dearborn has a long history of supporting and working with our veterans,” Saad said. “Memorial Day is an opportunity for all of us in Dearborn and in the metro area to honor the sacrifices made by so many. We do this by recognizing that the best way to honor their lives is to rededicate ourselves, year after year, to public service.”
More details about the Memorial Day Parade and how groups can sign up to participate this year will be available at www.cityofdearborn.org.
A military funeral procession along Michigan Avenue preceding the 2015 parade honors two World War II Army veterans who died without resources and whose cremains were stored for years in Michigan funeral homes. They are 1st Lt. Lyle Martin Baylor, who died in 1979, and Pfc. John Spaman, who died in 1986.