Red poppies “Honor the Dead by Helping the Living”. On travels, met a veteran selling the poppy flowers to raise money for his fellow veterans. People passed by him, unfortunately, because they did not know what the flowers meant. With the observation of the 100th anniversary of World War I this year and Remembrance Day in Commonwealth Countries, sharing again the story of their origin in that war.

Red poppies grew on battlefields of World War I, striking amidst rows of white crosses for the many lost lives. Moved by grief, Canadian Colonel John McCrae, a surgeon with Canada’s First Brigade Artillery, wrote a poem “In Flanders Field,” which resounded around the world. Through the work of Anna E. Guerin, France, and Moina Michael, Georgia (US), the sale of artificial poppies helped orphans and others impoverished by the war. By 1920 the American Legion assisted and the “Flowers of Remembrance” were sold throughout the US, Canada, Britain France, Australia, and New Zealand. To expand the support, the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) began to sell the “Buddy Poppy” nationally right before Memorial Day in 1922, and this became their memorial flower. Donations help support veterans and the families of those who have died in service.

As you may have seen in ceremonies and exhibits in the news, the United Kingdom has revitalized this recognition. The VFW got a trademark for the “Buddy Poppy” to safeguard that proceeds do indeed go to the veterans who assemble them, veterans’ rehabilitation, related programs, and in part, the VFW National Home for Children. (Sources: VFW.org, VA.gov, Wiki) Photo from Frelinghuysen Arboretum, Morris Township, NJ.

(First posted on Instagram 5/30/16 for Memorial Day. All Rights Reserved © 2016 Kathleen Helen Levey)