“though poppies grow in Flanders fields”

The Friday of Memorial Day weekend is observed as  National Poppy Day. In the United States,  the last Monday in May is Memorial Day, now a  holiday weekend.

Another American remembrance day features poppies -Veterans Day, always observed on the 11th day of the 11th month, November.

In the early 1920s the American Legion Auxiliary adopted the poppy as the American Legion Family’s memorial flower. The poppy, a simple red flower, symbolizes the service and sacrifice of veterans of World War I as well as veterans in other eras.

ALA members distribute millions of paper poppies annually across the country in exchange for donations that go directly to assist disabled and hospitalized veterans in our communities.

Why poppies?

I love the story of the poppies because it has a medical connection.

In the battlefields of Belgium during World War I, poppies grew wild amid the ravages of war. The overturned soils of battle covered the poppy seeds,  allowing them to grow and forever serve as a reminder of the bloodshed of war.

Out of this conflict came a poem, associated with poppies .

In Flanders Fields

The now-iconic poem, In Flanders Fields, was written by a military physician, Lt. Col. John McCrae.

Originally from Canada, Dr. McCrae was an English and math teacher, as well as a poet, before he attended medical school. He moved to England where he was practicing when World War I broke out. He was called to serve as a brigade-surgeon.

I suspect that as a physician, he was deeply pained by treating the wounded, and losing those he could not save.

“In April 1915, McCrae was stationed in the trenches near Ypres, Belgium, in an area known as Flanders, during the bloody Second Battle of Ypres.

In the midst of the tragic warfare, McCrae’s friend, twenty-two-year-old Lieutenant Alexis Helmer, was killed by artillery fire and buried in a makeshift grave.

The following day, McCrae, after seeing the field of makeshift graves blooming with wild poppies, wrote his famous poem “In Flanders Field,” which would be the second to last poem he would ever write.”

(from John McCrae at poets.org)

Listen to Leonard Cohen recite In Flanders Fields

In Flanders Fields

by Dr. John McCrae, 1872 -1918

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.

The poppy is the official state flower of California.  Read

6 interesting facts about poppies. 

You can help veterans by donating at this link.

(This is not an affiliate link, this blog receives no commission.)

The American Legion Auxiliary Foundation

sharing the HEART of honoring our heroes

Author: Aletha Cress Oglesby, M.D.

As a family physician, I explore the HEART of HEALTH in my work, recreation, community, and through writing. My blog, Watercress Words, informs and inspires us to live in health. I believe we can turn our health challenges into healthy opportunities. When we do, we can share the HEART of health with our families, communities, and the world. Come explore and share with me. View all posts by Aletha Cress Oglesby, M.D.