May is the month for poppies in the U.S.A. These simple, red flowers represent so much passion and emotion that I often marvel at their worldwide impact. Millions of members and supporters of veteran organizations like the American Legion and the VFW distribute handmade paper poppies in the lead up to Memorial Day (the last Monday in May was declared a US federal holiday in 1971).
For almost 100 years, the poppy has been a powerful symbol of remembrance, respect and honor for military veterans in the UK, Canada, France, Belgium, Australia, New Zealand, and the United States.
For many, the red poppy represents sacrifices made in the defense of freedom.
For me, the month of May is a time of solemn tributes and memorial services- for veterans who have lost their lives while serving their country and more personally, for my father, who passed away on May 2, 2003.
Fifteen years ago this month, I gave an impassioned speech at the Austin Toastmasters club titled “In Flanders Fields”. I opened with a recitation of the powerful World War I poem by Canadian Lt Col. John McCrae and told the story about how important the red poppy and the solemn Memorial Day traditions mean to me and my family.
This year I’d like to share of excerpt of a poem “We Shall Keep the Faith” which was written by an American woman named Moina Michael in 1918.
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,
But lends a lustre to the red
Of the flower that blooms above the dead
In Flanders Fields.