Memorial Day is here, you’ve been grilling all weekend, maybe spending time on the lake or with family. Growing up, we didn’t do much for the Memorial weekend, maybe mom would grill some ribs or we’d go fishing and have a fish fry. My grandparents would come over and us kids would enjoy having Monday off while my mom always had to go back to work! (Sorry mom!)
But one thing I do remember about Memorial Day, was seeing the veterans in their hats, handing out the little fake poppy flowers. I remember being told it represented the men and women who fought in the war and didn’t come home. The American Legion as well as the VFW both give away the red fabric flowers, some are even handmade by injured or disabled veterans.
Here is the story I’ve found online that gives a little more historic detail revolving around these colorful items.
In 1915, a Canadian soldier wrote a poem called Flander’s Fields. His name was John McCrae and he was a soldier, surgeon and physician in WWI, fighting in Belgium. After the battles were over, often times poppies were the first plants to start to bloom. Their seeds would hide and germinate in the disturbed and torn land, and while his men were being buried, McCrae saw these red flowers blooming among the dead.
In the U.S., a woman named Moina Michael was the first to symbolize the red poppy as a remembrance to the fallen. In 1918, a few days before the treaty in France was signed, Michael said she had read the poem Flander’s Fields and was immediately taken aback by the last verses.
In response to the poem, she wrote one of her own, We Shall Keep the Faith. After the war was over, Michael dedicated herself to helping disabled Veterans. As she worked with these men, she realized the need to help them financially, thus deciding to sell the red poppies as a way to help raise funds for disabled Veterans.
When celebrating Memorial Day this year, remember what it is really about. It’s not about getting off work or out of school, but about remembering the men and women that didn’t make it home. Raise your flag, thank a vet, take some decorations to the cemetery and honor those who are veterans.
