If you’ve ever wondered why poppies are associated with Memorial Day, the answer lies in Flanders Field in Belgium.
Flanders’ battlefield is located west of Belgium and North of France. It is a place where many soldiers died and is a resting place for their bodies.
The poem “In Flanders Fields” by John McCrae, a colonel during World War I, which opens:
In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place …
moved Anna E. Guerin of France and Moina Michael of Georgia to sell poppies, with the help of The American Legion, to those left destitute by the war, according to the Veterans Affairs website.
It became well-known by the allied countries as the Flower of Remembrance. The funds from that sale in 1920 went to the American and French Children’s League.
In 1924 a poppy factory was built in Pittsburgh, Pa. to make artificial poppies due to the shortage from French manufacturers. The factory used unemployed and disabled veterans as employees to help them and their families, according to Veterans Affairs.
In a mural that will be put on display at the VFW Post 4203 in Rockingham, a poppy plant is emblazoned over an image of the American Flag alongside a pair of boots and dog tags. Paige Burns, interim director of the Richmond County Extension, explained that the poppy flower is actually a weed.
“There’s different species of poppies,” Burns said. “They look a little different… the field poppy is a little smaller, a little plainer, a little simple flower… the opium poppies have a lot more going on in the middle of the plant. They have more prominent [features and colors].”
Poppies come in different colors and sized depending on how they’re cultivated. The red field poppy is still a symbol of those who died for the United States’ freedom.