American Legion Auxiliary holds ‘Poppy Days’
LOCK HAVEN — Members of the American Legion Auxiliary (ALA) Unit No. 131 of Lock Haven held their Poppy Days during the month of May.
Poppy Days dates back to the American Legion Auxiliary’s first National Convention in the early 1920s, when the red poppy was adopted as the American Legion family’s memorial flower. Today, it remains an iconic symbol of honor for the sacrifice of our veterans. ALA members distribute millions of poppies annually across the country in exchange for donations that assist veterans.
In 1918, Moina Michael popularized the idea of wearing a poppy flower in memory of the war dead. She was moved by Lt. Col. McCrae’s poem “In Flanders Fields,” when she wrote the following response:
…. the blood of heroes never dies
But lends a luster to the red
Of the flower that blooms above the dead
In Flanders Field
Michael later started a campaign to adopt the poppy as the national symbol of sacrifice.