LOWELL — The quarter mile from John Street to City Hall is a short walk and a century long. It was the route traveled Saturday morning by more than 50 Armenian Americans in commemoration of the anniversary of the Armenian genocide 103 years ago.

Although April 24, 1915, is recognized as the official starting date of Armenia's horrors, the relentless campaign of eradication actually lasted some eight years. The procession down Merrimack Street was a symbolic reflection of that dark period and the many generations of Armenians in attendance all knew why they were there.

The march culminated in a flag-raising ceremony at City Hall, where clergy, politicians and ancestrally-linked survivors of the genocide spoke, sang and saluted both a flag and a people.

The annual procession is held throughout the country on the Saturday morning before April 24.

Steve Dulgarian, 84, of Chelmsford, and carries with him the passed-down stories of his mother's and father's escape from the genocide. He still marches alongside the great-grandchildren of his countrymen. He estimates that there are about 3,000 Armenians living in the Merrimack Valley and as many as 1 million in the United States.

"About 2 million Armenians were murdered by the Ottomans," he said.

His anger has been replaced by ethnic pride. Not only has he not forgotten myriad tragic stories he heard from his parents, but he has assigned himself the informal role of passing along those tales to subsequent generations.