THE MEMORIAL POPPY

The Poppy as the memorial flower for American war dead is a tradition which began in the years following the first world war.  Veterans returning to their homes in this country remembered the wild poppies which lined the devastated battlefields of France and Flanders, and the soldiers of all nations came to look upon this flower as a living symbol of their dead comrades' sacrifice.  A Canadian officer, Colonel John McCrae, immortalized the flower in his famous poem, "In Flanders' Fields".

Returning servicemen brought with them memories of the battlefield poppies, and the flower soon took on a sacred significance.  The poppy soon became a symbol of honoring the dead and assisting the living victims of war.

Soon after the armistice, patriotic organizations in different countries began conducting poppy sales.  The flowers, made by disabled servicemen, raised funds for relief work among handicapped veterans and their families.  Wearing a poppy came to mean honor the dead and help the living.

The homecoming of the 32nd Division in Milwaukee in June 1919 marked the beginning of the Auxiliary's Poppy Program.  A coffee and doughnut booth decorated with paper poppies was stripped of its floral ornaments twice and the passerby who took the poppies left contributions on the counter.  Several hundred dollars were contributed for the benefit of disabled veterans.  One of the women in the booth, Mrs. Mary Hanecy, proposed that distributing poppies on the streets at the time of Memorial Day would be an excellent way for American Legion Posts to raise money needed for rehabilitation work.  She presented her idea to Post Number 1 in Milwaukee and as a result, this group conducted a poppy distribution on the Saturday before Memorial Day 1920.

The Georgia Department of The American Legion adopted the poppy as a memorial flower at its Convention in 1920.  Then the Georgia delegation took the idea to The American Legion National Convention at Cleveland in September 1920 and the poppy was adopted as the national memorial flower of the organization.  At the first National Convention of The American Legion Auxiliary in Kansas City, Missouri in October 1921, one of its first actions was the adoption of the poppy as the Auxiliary's memorial flower.

During the same period, the poppy also became the memorial flower of the British Legion.  Other American veterans' organizations followed The American Legion and Auxiliary in adopting it as their official flower of remembrance.  Shortly afterward, millions of the memorial flowers were worn each year throughout the English speaking world to honor the war dead and aid living but disabled veterans.

By 1924, it was realized the Poppy Program would be best handled by women and The American Legion gave the Auxiliary complete charge of the national program.  The Auxiliary lived up to the great responsibilities this carried.  At present, approximately 25 million Americans wear Legion and Auxiliary poppies in tribute to the war dead, contributing nearly two million dollars for the rehabilitation and well being of disabled veterans.

(Information source:  The American Legion Auxiliary National Headquarters/Poppy Program)

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