A time to remember
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.
- John McCrae, 1872-1918
In Flanders Fields is one of the most famous poems about World War I. It was written by Canadian physician and Lt. Col. John McCrae on May 3, 1915, after he'd witnessed the gruesome death of his friend the day before. Since then, the red poppy has been a symbol of fallen soldiers, in every field.
On this Memorial Day, the crepe paper red poppies will be sold across the nation by the American Legion Auxiliary, including Hillsboro Post #366 Auxiliary, at Memorial Park before the service begins.
The story of the red poppy begins long before the Auxiliary adopted the flower as a way to help veterans, and as a way to remember them.
The story of the red poppy began when Lt. Col. McCrae, a doctor and soldier in the Canadian Army, wrote "In Flanders Fields," to honor all who sacrificed their lives in the line of duty.
In an area of southwest Belgium and northwest France, known as Flanders fields, bloody battles led to the destruction of buildings, roads, and all plant life, leaving only blood-soaked mud on the ground.
After the dead were buried, dormant poppy seeds exposed during the grave digging bloomed red, and flourished, covering the soldiers' newly-dug graves.
Auxiliary women give poppies away so they can tell the story, and to raise awareness, about veterans, who in 2007 are lie buried in bloody fields, it seems, almost everywhere.
It's a sad testimony of our times that we should have to remind readers, that as we enjoy the holiday weekend, that it would be fitting and worthwhile to spend the 10 o'clock hour Memorial Day morning at Memorial Park, wearing a poppy, and remembering the fallen.
— GRANT OVERSTAKE
