
Memorial Day was originally created as a time set aside to commemorate the honorable men and women who gave the ultimate sacrifice for their country. A day set aside to reflect upon and remember all those military and other personnel who sacrificed themselves so we can continue to live in the freedoms we now have.
Here is a closer look at Memorial Day facts and history.
MEMORIAL DAY FACTS AND HISTORY
WHY IS THE POPPY A SYMBOL OF MEMORIAL DAY?
In the war-torn battlefields of Europe, the common red field poppy (Papaver rhoeas) was one of the first plants to reappear. Its seeds scattered in the wind and sat dormant in the ground, only germinating when the ground was disturbed—as it was by the very brutal fighting of World War 1.
John McCrae, a Canadian soldier and physician, witnessed the war first hand and was inspired to write the now-famous poem "In Flanders Fields" in 1915. (See below for the poem.) He saw the poppies scattered throughout the battlefield surrounding his artillery position in Belgium.
The Poppy Lady
In November 1918, days before the official end of the war, an American professor named Moina Michael wrote her own poem, "We Shall Keep the Faith", which was inspired by McCrae's "In Flanders Fields". In her poem (also shown below), she mentioned wearing the "poppy red" to honor the dead, and with that, the tradition of adorning one's clothing with a single red poppy in remembrance of those killed in the Great War was born. Moina herself came to be known—and honored—as "The Poppy Lady."
The Symbol Spreads Abroad
The wearing of the poppy was traditionally done on Memorial Day in the United States, but the symbolism has evolved to encompass all veterans living and deceased, so poppies may be worn on Veterans Day as well. Not long after the custom began, it was adopted by other Allied nations, including Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom, where it is still popular today. In these countries, the poppy is worn on Remembrance Day (November 11).
Today, poppies are not only a symbol of loss of life, but also of recovery and new life, especially in support of the servicemen who survived the war but suffered from physical and psychological injuries long after it ended.
Read the text of both poems below, and learn more about the inspiration for the poppy here.
"In Flanders Fields"
by John McCrae, May 1915
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.
"We Shall Keep the Faith"
by Moina Michael, November 1918
Oh! you who sleep in Flanders Fields,
Sleep sweet – to rise anew!
We caught the torch you threw
And holding high, we keep the Faith
With All who died.
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.
And now the Torch and Poppy Red
We wear in honor of our dead.
Fear not that ye have died for naught;
We'll teach the lesson that ye wrought
In Flanders Fields.
MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND: THE UNOFFICIAL START OF SUMMER
Memorial Day tends to mark the unofficial start of summer for many Americans (though the season really begins with the Summer Solstice in June).
The Old Farmers Almanac - 27 MAY 2021
Related
Patriot's Patriot General Flynn Featured at Dallas' For God and Country Roundup

This Memorial Day Holiday Weekend 1000's of patriotic events are taking place in every small burg and large city throughout this great country.
But not all of them will have the likes of General Michael Flynn highlighting their event, as does this unique celebration in Dallas called the "For God & Country Patriot Roundup".
Memorial Day Weekend 2021, Trump fans find fellowship with a 3-day Dallas conference to talk about God, country and patriotism.
Promotion
RRM Content Creators: Visionaries, Poet Warriors, World Leaders
We all need, to get the Word out. Mother Earth herself, is dying for us to speak in her behalf with a grain or two of common sense.
You won't know what you can accomplish, until you give it a good try taking it to the next level. We are here to support you overcoming the technical hurdles to sharing you thoughts, wisdom, art, vision, with the world via the internet, the most powerful communication medium in human history.
The best way to get started, is to load your MyRR Arsenal with ammunition, posting content here exactly like you would on FB and Twitt. When you are ready to jump into Citizen Journalism, publishing your articles, research, art etc as articles and features in Top Stories and other RRM Categories, it's time to join the Creators Guild becoming an RRM Author and Editor!
One of our authors has an RRM article that popped past 80k hits, while we were still testing the site. Seeing your FB or Twitt posts languishing as usual at one or two dozen engagements, watching the same posts on RRM pulling thousands of hits, you'll get quite clearly why we built this.
If you haven't already begun your RRM adventure:





