Symbolic flower grew from poetry of a doctor in war

As I was leaving the post office Thursday, I noticed my neighbor setting up his stand to distribute red poppies.

A veteran of World War II and the Korean War, he was volunteering for the American Legion Auxiliary to distribute the flower in return for a donation of any amount to help veterans and their families.

I threw in the change from mailing my package and received one of the artificial poppies, made by disabled and needy veterans in an effort to provide financial assistance to them.

The auxiliary, with volunteers stationed at various locations in the county, hoped to raise over $6,200 through the distribution of 5,000 poppies, matching or surpassing its contributions from last year.

The small paper flower initially felt fragile but it's still in good shape to wear today. The long, flexible stem makes it easy to adjust and wear as a remembrance to those who lost their lives fighting for our country.

The history of the red poppy, a wildflower, as a Memorial Day flower dates back to World War I.

Moina Michael began wearing red poppies in 1918 to remember those who died in the war. She was inspired by the 1915 poem "In Flanders Fields," written by Joe McCrae, a World War I lieutenant colonel and doctor in the Canadian Army. He wrote the poem while watching a nearby cemetery in Europe where a young soldier had been buried. Wild poppies grew in the ditches of the cemetery.

Michael replied to McCrae's writings with her own poem:

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.

Michael sold the poppies to friends and co-workers with the money going to help servicemen in need. The custom spread to France where artificial poppies were made to help war-orphaned children and widowed women.

Today, red poppies are sold throughout the world with proceeds helping veteran organizations.

While the three-day Memorial Day weekend has become the unofficial beginning of summer ; with beach trips, barbecues and other activities planned ; war rages on in the Middle East where American troops continue to give their lives for our freedom.

Fallen soldiers ; and those still fighting ; deserve our attention and gratitude, especially on Memorial Day. Remember them.

Cherie Speller is associate editor for readership and community news at The Daily Reflector. Contact her at 329-9512 or cspeller@coxnc.com.