Memorial Day Weekend "Lest We Forget"

Dear Colleagues,

At its core, the eloquence of Memorial Day speaks of personal sacrifice for a greater, common good. It echoes in the stories of ordinary Americans, who fought and died, drawing on extraordinary personal courage and an abiding sense of duty to preserve our nation.

 Memorial Day is a time for remembrance, reflection, and respect for honoring the men and women who gave their lives serving the United States of America. We pay homage to their willingness to sacrifice themselves for love of country.

 Two interesting factoids about Memorial Day and our traditions.

1. “In Flanders Field”

The use of the poppy as a symbol of fallen soldiers is derived from the poem “In Flanders Field.” On May 3, 1915, Canadian Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, M.D. wrote the poem after the funeral of a friend who died in the Second Battle of Ypres. The war poem describes of how the red poppies grew over fallen soldiers’ graves. Because of this poem, poppies became the most recognized memorial symbol for soldiers who have died during war.

 2. The Poppy Lady

On November 9, 1918, Moina Michael, an American professor, was working at the YMCA Overseas War Secretaries’ headquarters during its annual conference in New York. After reading a poem in the Ladies Home Journal titled “We Shall Not Sleep” (later called “In Flanders Field”), she was moved and vowed to always wear a red poppy. She purchased 25 silk poppies and upon returning to the conference, she pinned one to her coat and distributed the rest among those at the conference. She began to campaign to get the poppy adopted as the national remembrance symbol and became known as the “Poppy Lady.” In 1948, four years after her death, the U.S. Postal Service issued a commemorative stamp in her memory and listing her as the founder of the memorial poppy.

 “In Flanders Field”

 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.

Very Respectfully,

David "Dave" G. McClimans, LSS-GB