Henderson daily dispatch., 1944-05-22
STORY OF LEGION
AUXILIARY POPPY

u
The idea of the poppy ms , ucmo-
rial Hover for the World w.n. do.,d
Sprang up as naturally ms did the
ii'tie Wild Hover itself grows i'm the
ilcldS OF France and Flanders .rhc
iioWcE was tine one touch of beauty
amid the hidcouS destruction of y.:n.
i,edth INC tangled barbcd wire, about
r'""s inc edge of the trenches, be-
inc ragged shell holes and over the
,IeSh graves 1t raised It's brave red
''oSS"h. II seemed to be the une
Immortal thinS III that rcgion where
ucath reigned. The soldiers of all
,'"!'ohS came To look upon il rs the
iiNihG symbol of the sacrifices OF
'her dead comrades.
IL was poet who first gave cx-
lfeSSlon TO the idea. Soon himself
20 lie beneath the poppics. he wrote;
III flanders fields the poppics
Between the crosses. row on
ruW-'
Even before the men had returned
from the war. the perfect iil,." boo,
oi colonel John MCCrac had winged
,,S way around the world CARVING
INC plcluIc OF the puppicS. Return
ing soldiers brought the vision of Tho
poppy fields back with then. cnsrny..
* ndelibly III their hearts with ,h,
n.cmorlcS of the comrades .nry lad
LETT on the battlefront. SporiIn-
en'#iy the poppy took ON Il sacred
significance. II became tho lluyrr
oil remembrance for the mon vino had
ncured out their Iifc'S blood around
thc roots uf the little plant.
Memories of the war dead alw,vs
brings thoughts of those who did no,
die but came back doomed ;n v.a-s
o. hardship and suffering. sou;riialcS
worse than death. In the poupy wa.
lpiind way to link the hOruiing of
lac dead with service for Inc UCIup
victims of the war. Soon after the
War patriotic organizations in differ
cit countries began TO cOnduc. sales
OF poppiCS made hy disabled vet
Grams. 10 raise funds for rClirr y0rl,
among suffering CN-SCrNiCc ,rrl n I'd
ihclr families. y double Sign.f:ciucc
iccamc attached To the poppy. Wear
INC little flower came To mean hon.
OfIhS The dead and helping the i,l ing.
me poppy also became the mo
mortal flower of the British l.crion
other American veterans nrgar;2a-
lions followed The American i,,gion
and Auxiliary in adopting ii as their
"ii!clal Hover of remembrance. Soon
many millions oi the little red flow
ci" were being wOrE each year III al
parts OF tn" Notwithstanding world.
To honor the World War dead and
10 aid the wars living victims.
Tho
poppicS WAS begun by the Legion
and Auxiliary in 1921. At first six
p"ppicS made in France by French
widows and orphans we're used. In
W. the p"ppicS made by American
veterans We're produced in the hos
pllalS oi Minnesota. and this wurI;
mas steadily expanded uniil pupplcs
are being made i'll more than :itty
hospitals and disabled veterans
workronm in forty different states.
The crepe paper poppy was select
cd as the official poppy OF The Amer
ican Legion and Auxiliary because
II provided the MAXIMUM of work
FOR the disabled men. with the mini
mum expenditure for materials. The
fabric poppy WAS considered. buI IL
was not selected because making this
poppy would not provide sufficient
employment for the disabled vctcr-
ans.
BY 1924 il was seen that the poppv
program lent itself more naturally to
the work of women than of men. and
the American Legion gave the Auxil-
larry complete charge of the national
program. This was Il heavy rcspon-
SibIlity. Wearing the flower was
III" nations annual tribute 10 the
World War dead. From the disiribu-
tI"n ui The Hover came Il large pro-
portion of the welfare and rclicl
FUNDS oi both organizations. Seldom
has such gigantic enterprise been
placed solely IN the hands at women.
How well the AuxIlidry measured
up tn the responsibility placed ON It's
shoulders is shown by the develop
mcni Of the poppy program Each
year approximately l3.OOO.OOO Amer
leans wear Legion and Auxiliary
pnppicS in tribute tO the war dead,
contributing for the flowers over a
million dollars for the wcliarc of the
wars living VictimS-COnlribut