On the World War I battlefields of Belgium, poppies grew wild amid the ravaged landscape. A surgeon with Canada’s First Brigade Artillery, Col. McCrae expressed his grief over “row on row” of soldiers’ graves who had died on Flanders battlefields. The poem he wrote became a rallying cry to all who fought in that war.
In Flanders field the poppies blow
Between the crosses row on row.
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.We are the dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we live,
In Flanders Fields.Take up our quarrel with the foe;
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders Fields.
Colonel John McCrae
There’s a great story about the writing of this poem posted on the VFW Post 3617 website. And the History Channel covers the history of the poppy as well.
After the publication of In Flanders Fields and through the efforts of Moina Michael (a volunteer at the New York YWCA headquarters at the time) and Frenchwoman named Anna Guérin, the Poppy became recognized as the memorial flower and a symbol of remembrance.
Madame Guérin organized French women, children and veterans to make and sell artificial poppies as a way to fund the restoration of war-torn France, eventually bringing the campaign to England. By 1922, Major George Howson set up the Poppy Factory in Richmond, England, in which disabled servicemen were employed to make the fabric and paper blooms.
In the United States, the American Legion first adopted the symbol in 1920. The VFW, however, was the first American organization to distribute crafted poppies nationwide in May of 1922. By 1924 both the VFW and American Legion Auxiliary had full-fledged programs for national distribution. To ensure the most powerful impact, it was agreed that the poppies be assembled by hospitalized, disabled and/or needy veterans who are justly paid for their work, similar to the Poppy Factory in England.
Since then, other countries around the world have adopted the Poppy as a national symbol of remembrance. Today, millions of people in the United Kingdom, Canada, France, Belgium, Australia and New Zealand don the red flowers every November 11 (known as Remembrance Day or Armistice Day) to commemorate the anniversary of the 1918 armistice.
In the United States, Americans wear the symbolic red flower moreso on Memorial Day—the last Monday in May—to commemorate the sacrifice of so many men and women who have given their lives fighting for their country. Some organizations, such as the VFW, still distribute poppies around Veterans Day as well as Memorial Day.
Any and all donations received from distribution of the poppies goes right back to helping veterans and their families in the local area. Remember this next time you are handed a poppy “as a way to honor and remember our veterans” around Memorial and Veterans Days.
More information about the American Legion Auxiliary Poppy Program is available on their website.
More information about the VFW Buddy Poppies is available on their website.
Lots more information about the Remembrance Poppy on Wikipedia.
