Vietnam veteran Gerald “Jerry” Cafferty will serve as the grand marshal of the city’s Memorial Day parade when it steps off at 10:30 a.m. Monday, May 27.

Cafferty, who turns 75 on May 20, will lead the more than 40-unit procession of veterans, dignitaries and bands along the 1 ½-mile parade route, which follows Campbell Avenue from Captain Thomas Boulevard to Center Street.

The 2024 edition of southern Connecticut’s oldest and largest Memorial Day parade has no rain date and will feature three marching divisions and a military division, as well as special accommodations for disabled veterans.

The procession will include an eight-seat golf cart carrying former grand marshals that is bedecked with a star gracing the names of those deceased. Other veterans will ride on a float. It will also include a flyover by a C-130 Hercules, a four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft operated by the Connecticut Air National Guard.

The 90-minute parade, in memory of the deceased members of the U.S. armed forces of all wars, will showcase the city’s legion of veterans groups.