For years, red poppies have been worn proudly by many Americans around Memorial Day. As this date daws near again, I would like to tell you about this flower?Äôs significance and the purpose of Poppy Day.
We in this country wear the poppy once a year to signify the feeling of reverence in our hearts for the servicemen who died for America during two world wars, the Korean War, and the Vietnam Conflict. The poppy is their flower. It grew on the battlefields of Europe where so many men fought and died. This flower grew along the battle lines and among the graves of American dead; because of this, it has become the symbol of their sacrifice.
But in addition to service as a memorial to the war dead, the poppy helps lighten the burden carried by the men who returned disabled in mind and body. Making poppies gives employment to veterans who otherwise would not be able to earn support for themselves and their families. What form of aid could be more effective then helping veterans aid themselves with productive work? Poppy Day provides an annual opportunity for the American public to offer encouragement and support to these men.
As the special significance of Poppy Day has become widely known, more and more Americans wear these small red flowers proudly. The poppy has become recognized as an appropriate way in which our war dead can be honored while the disabled are rehabilitated. The need for the relief work which poppy funds make possible has grown each year. Our government has doneSW much for disabled veterans and families of deceased servicemen, but much also remains to be done.
Funds from Poppy Day enable the American Legion and American Legion Auxiliary to meet this need. Dimes and dollars contributed during Poppy Day go directly into the rehabilitation and child-welfare programs of these organizations. Not one cent is retained by either of these service organizations which administer the program on a voluntary basis.
Families aided by Poppy Day can be found in every community. Veteran who rely upon poppy-making for earning money to support their families are to be found in virtually every state in the nation. Poppy benefits are used to strengthen lives blighted by wartime injury and suffering.
When you are asked to wear a poppy on Saturday, May 26, remember the veteran in a hospital or workshop who made this memorial flower. Our Poppy Day purpose has always been to honor the war dead by assisting the living. This is the true significance of Poppy Day.
We Shall Keep Faith
?ÄúAnd now the Torch and Poppy red
We wear in honor of our dead.
Fear not that ye have died for naught;
We?Äôll teach the lesson
that ye wrought
In Flanders Fields.?Äù
Moina Michael