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Community Corner

The Story of the Red Poppy and Memorial Day

An international symbol of remembrance initiated by one of Georgia's very own.

Nature is utterly defiant. We can burn it, ravage it and rip its insides out until, seemingly, no inkling of life remains. But once the abuse stops, it always returns, bringing hope and promise along with it. And not only for the Earth, but for our own trampled inner landscapes as well. 

It makes perfect sense, then, that the presence of life during dark times is often more meaningful than during others. If a butterfly lands on your shoulder after hearing of the passing of a loved one, meaning is attached--rebirth, freedom, remembrance--and the butterfly is no longer just an insect. It becomes a symbol larger than life, bringing peace and reason where there was none.  

The story of Memorial Day’s red poppy is much the same. In early May of 1915, around the area of Ypres in Belgian Flanders, a Canadian soldier named John McCrae grieved the loss of a dear friend (one of 6,000 Canadian casualties in a 48 hour period) amidst the backdrop of freshly dug burial sites in a war-raped landscape. Spring arrived a bit early that year, and with her came clusters of blood-red poppies, which blanketed the battle and burial grounds in perfect symbolism. Moved, he penned this (now famous) poem on site:

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In Flanders fields the poppies blow

Between the crosses, row on row,

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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 poem, originally discarded in dissatisfaction, was later retrieved by a fellow soldier and sent off to publishers in London where it was well received and, lucky for us, widely reprinted. 

Now, a shift in time and place brings this story to the YMCA Overseas War Secretaries’ headquarters in New York City, where in 1918 an American woman named Moina Michael worked. Too old to serve overseas herself, Michael voluntarily took a leave of absence from her teaching position at University of Georgia’s Normal College to help train other war workers for tasks abroad. 

On November 9th, only two days before Armistice was declared, Michael picked up a copy of the “Ladies Home Journal” left on her desk by a young soldier before heading off to service. Inside, she stumbled upon McCrae’s, “In Flanders Fields”. Transfixed and inspired by the vivid imagery, she pledged to always wear a red poppy in remembrance and scribbled this poem in response: 

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.


We cherish, too, the poppy red

That grows on fields where valor led;

It seems to signal to the skies

That blood of heroes never dies,

But lends a lustre to the red

Of the flower that blooms above the dead

In Flanders Fields.

 

And now the Torch and Poppy Red

We wear in honor of our dead.

Fear not that ye have died for naught;

We’ll teach the lesson that ye wrought

In Flanders Fields.

Moments later, three men, serendipitously, gifted her ten dollars in appreciation for always adorning the headquarters' drab interior with flowers she purchased with her own funds. With it, she immediately went out and purchased twenty-five silk red poppies, keeping one for herself and distributing the remaining amongst eager recipients at the headquarters.

A lovely tradition was born but, despite her efforts, its scope was underwhelming. 

In 1919, she headed back to the University of Georgia, where she resumed her teaching role, tirelessly worked on her Memorial Poppy Campaign and selflessly committed every bit of spare time and money to help returning war veterans and their families adapt to life with disabilities. She realized that the Memorial Poppy Campaign should not only honor those who had lost their lives to the war, but also support those who were returning. Therefore, she extended her campaign to include the promotion of international programs in which mentally and physically disabled veterans would produce and sell silk red poppies, the profits of which would directly benefit those veterans. 

Her campaign began to take off and soon, her efforts were fully realized. One by one, countries like New Zealand, Canada, England, France, Australia and America not only adopted the red poppy as their national symbol for remembrance, but also initiated programs that supported disabled veterans through the production and sale of silk red poppies. And their successes continue today!

So this weekend, between stuffing your face with hot dogs and slathering on sunscreen (you missed a spot), raise your glass in remembrance of those whose lives were/are forever changed due to the perils of war. And don’t forget to include Moina Michael, our very own home-bred, hero of heroes!

Happy Memorial Day!

If you'd like donate time or money to our local Disabled American Veterans chapter (#92), contact the Disabled American Veterans: Department of Georgia.

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