Memorial Day Poppies

Memorial Day in America and poppies go together. As usual with such things, there's a story behind that.

• "The Memorial Day Poppy"
  Botanical.com
  "The inspiration for this column began at the local shopping mall. Yeah, I know it is a pretty bizarre place to get any kind of inspiration let alone gardening inspiration but sometimes you just have to go with the flow. You see sitting out front of one of the mega stores was a WWII veteran and what looked like his grandson. On the shaky card table were a bunch of red silk poppies and a can for donations...."
• "Why do we get Poppies when we give a donation on Veteran's Day?"
  Annie's "Memorial Day Symbols & Things
  "Flanders Field is a United States military cemetery near Waregem, Belgium. Buried in this cemetery are the bodies of 368 members of the armed forces who died in World War I (1914-1918). Canadian poet John McCrae wrote the famous poem, 'In Flanders Fields' .... "
• "Red Poppies: A Memorial Day Tradition to Remember Veterans"
  Associated Content (April 11, 2008)
  "For most Americans, Memorial Day signifies the beginning of summer and opportunity for remembrance of those who have served our country during times of war and of peace. Officially, Memorial Day was first observed on May 30,1968 and was originally labeled Decoration Day. In the following years, by an act of Congress, the day of remembrance was moved to the last Monday of each May and renamed Memorial Day. The tradition of the red poppy has become a formality of Memorial Day which is often overlooked."