PORTSMOUTH, Va. (WAVY) – The 140th Memorial Day Parade in Portsmouth marched on despite ending with heavy rain and thunder.

Hundreds of people lined up along High Street on Monday to honor the memory of those who died serving our country.

The Annual Memorial Day Parade has been a Portsmouth tradition since 1884 and is considered one of the longest running Memorial Day Parades in America.

The parade began around 10 a.m. and traveled through Olde Towne.

“This is the day we honor those who gave the ultimate sacrifice for us to enjoy the freedoms that we enjoy. It’s a pleasure and an honor for me to be here today,” said Portsmouth Mayor and Navy Veteran Shannon Glover.

More than 50 groups proudly honored fallen military members, ending with the I-C Norcom High School marching band through a downpour of rain.

“My father was a 30 year veteran in the United States Navy. It’s something that I look forward to. Everybody in this area should come and support the parade because we have a lot of military in the area. Almost everybody has someone in their family that has served and some of them have lost family members while serving for this country,” said Rosetta Brown.

“My father was in the military. I owe it to my family to represent those that lost loved ones,” said Gwendolyn Jones Frazier. “I’m out here today to show my respect… I’m proud to be here! I thank all of the military [members] for serving our country.”