As America gathers together for our 2021 Memorial Day celebration, very few of us realize the significance of the "red poppy" used as a symbol of this holiday. The "poppy" comes from the famous poem by Lt. Colonel John McCrae for his fallen friend Lt. Alexis Helmer killed in action on May 2, 1915.
In Flanders fields 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 lie 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
The battle of Flanders was actually five separate battles (1914-1918) that cost an estimated 500,000 casualties on both sides before the war ended. The World War I battlefields were desolate images of destruction. But there was one flower that grew abundantly in these fields of blood and carnage. Many of the dead were buried where they lay and were located afterwards by the carpet of "red poppies" that blanketed their final resting place. McCrae, a Canadian physician, wrote his verses from the view of the dead soldiers. In the last verse, the fallen dead call on the living to continue the conflict until victory is won! Thus, the Red Poppy became the symbol of their sacrifice and for all of those who gave their all as the price of freedom!
"And for those that have made the ultimate sacrifice, remember they can never perish as long as their name is spoken and their memory is honored!" So for those of you who have lost loved ones speak their name often, cherish their memory, and pass on their tribute!
The "Red Poppy"
The desolation of a World War I battlefield where red poppies would flourish
Canadian Army Lt. Alexis Hannum Helmer