The origins of Memorial Day

[ReignetteC]

A complement to Memorial Day festivities is the red "remembrance poppy." The poem, "In Flanders Fields" inspired the use of the poppy as a stirring symbol of remembrance for the men and women who have died in battle. Lieutenant-Colonel John McCrae penned the seminal poem after surviving the battle of Ypres in the Flanders region of Belgium during World War I. After he buried a friend who was killed in battle, McCrae noticed how poppies quickly grew around the graves of the fallen.


In Flanders Fields

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.