Volunteers will be at several places in Delano, including the Crossings area and Delano Post Office, Friday, May 14 offering poppies, in hopes that everyone will wear one to honor military veterans.
History of Poppy Day
A bloody battle was fought during World War I in a region called Flanders. The area in France was completely devastated.
In the spring of 1919, the poppies still bloomed among the ruins and where the men had fallen in battle.
The memory that the soldiers brought home was that of the poppies blooming in the field of blood.
The poppy became a symbol of sacrifice of lives during the war and represented the hope that none had died in vain.
A poem was written about the battle in Flanders Fields and the poppy by Col. John McRae in 1915.
“In Flander’s fields, the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row
That mark our place . . .
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 . . .”
One of the original poppy supporters, Moina Michael, was so moved by the poem that she wrote a response:
“. . . the blood of heroes never dies
But lends a luster to the red
Of the flower that blooms above the dead
In Flander’s field.”
At the national convention of the American Legion in Cleveland Sept. 27-29, 1920, it was resolved to adopt the poppy as the American Legion’s Memorial Flower. The American Legion was the first national organization to adopt the poppy.
In October 1921, at the organizing convention of the American Legion Auxiliary, the poppy was adopted as its Memorial Flower.
At that time, the Auxiliary pledged 100 percent of the profits from the poppy distribution to be used for servicemen and servicewomen and their families.
More than 25,000,000 poppies are made by the veterans and distributed by the American Legion Auxiliary each year.