In Honor of Memorial Day, let us remember those who died so that we could live in freedom.
I found this information on the Poppy. I wanted to share it with you.
The Story of the Poppy
Memorial Day and Veteran’s Day are often confused as both days are designed to remember those brave men and women who have fought to preserve freedom world wide. Memorial Day was originally for the remembrance of those individuals who have given their life in battle or died as a result of battle injuries, whereas, Veteran’s Day is for the remembrance of those who have served in the military and are still alive.
A couple of years ago, I entered our local grocery store and there were two retired servicemen selling poppies in honor of those who died. I noticed that several people just walked by them and hardly gave them a second glance and I instantly felt sad at the treatment they were receiving. After all, we were able to enjoy this beautiful day with our families because of them. I guess it had been a few years since I had seen anyone selling poppies for this purpose so I walked over to the older of the two and asked for a poppy and gave him my donation. I will never forget the sincere look of gratitude in his eyes as he gave me the poppy to pin on my shirt. He was so happy that someone cared!
The wearing of the red poppy has a very interesting story attached to it. It is most often associated with a poem by World War I Colonel John McCrae, a surgeon with Canada's First Brigade Artillery, called ‘In Flanders Fields’ or ‘We Shall Not Sleep’. It was largely through the efforts of two women, Moina Michael of Georgia and Anna E. Guerin of France that the poppy came to be officially recognized as the remembrance flower world-wide. The first poppies worn for this remembrance were on November 9, 1918 in New York City. The poem was written three years earlier in May when Colonel McCrae lost a friend during a battle near Ypres-Yser canal in Belgium. He was moved by the sight of poppies that were springing up between the crosses in the disturbed battlefield grounds. (Poppy seeds can lay dormant for years until they are disturbed and then germinate and grow which is what happened the spring of 1915.)
After reading the last verse of the poem:
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.
Molina vowed to “keep the faith”. She quickly scribbled on the back of an envelope a poem titled,
"We Shall Keep the Faith"
Oh! you who sleep in Flanders Fields, Sleep sweet - to rise anew!
We caught the torch you threw
And holding high, we keep the Faith
With All who died.
I hope we too can keep the faith of those who have gone before us by wearing the red poppy.
Let us all keep the faith and carry the torch.
Lis
