| 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. |
This
was the poem written by World War I Colonel John McCrae, a surgeon with Canada
's First Brigade Artillery. It expressed McCrae's grief over the "row on
row" of graves of soldiers who had died on Flanders' battlefields, located
in a region of western Belgium and northern France. The poem presented a striking
image of the bright red flowers blooming among the rows of white crosses and became
a rallying cry to all who fought in the First World War. The first printed version
of it reportedly was in December 1915, in the British magazine Punch. McCrae's
poem had a huge impact on two women, Anna E. Guerin of France and Georgia native
Moina Michael. Both worked hard to initiate the sale of artificial poppies to
help orphans and others left destitute by the war. By the time Guerin established
the first sale in the U.S., in 1920 with the help of The American Legion, the
poppy was well known in the allied countries America, Britain, France,
Canada, Australia and New Zealand as the "Flower of Remembrance."
Proceeds from that first sale went to the American and French Children's League. Guerin
had difficulty with the distribution of the poppies in early 1922 and sought out
Michael for help. Michael had started a smaller-scaled Poppy Day during a YMCA
conference she was attending in New York and wanted to use the poppies as a symbol
of remembrance of the war. Guerin, called the "Poppy Lady of France"
in her homeland, and Michael, later dubbed "The Poppy Princess" by the
Georgia legislature, went to the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) for help. Following
its first nationwide distribution of poppies in 1922, the VFW adopted the poppy
as its official memorial flower. However,
a shortage of poppies from French manufacturers led to the idea of using unemployed
and disabled veterans to produce the artificial flowers. In 1924, a poppy factory
was built in Pittsburgh, Pa., providing a reliable source of poppies and a practical
means of assistance to veterans. Today, veterans at Department of Veterans Affairs
medical facilities and veterans homes help assemble the poppies, which are distributed
by veterans service organizations throughout the country. Donations
received in return for these artificial poppies have helped countless veterans
and their widows, widowers and orphans over the years. The poppy itself continues
to serve as a perpetual tribute to those who have given their lives for the nation's
freedom. |