Tama Mayor Doug Ray declared Poppy Day and month in the city. Brenda Youngbear is organizing events for Poppy Day and month. Photo by Cyote Williams

The red crape paper poppy is the symbol of the little red poppies that grew in the battlefields and graveyards in France during World War I. These poppies remind us of the sacrifice American servicemen have given during World War I, World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War and the wars of Panama, Granada and Desert Storm.

All proceeds from the poppy distribution are used for the benefit of veterans and their families in the local community.

Poppy History

Flanders, France was the town in which the bright red flower grew from the devastation that had been caused during the first World War.

The poppy has been a sign of remembrance for decades, the person who came up with the idea for it to be used in remembrance of these fallen servicemen was Madame Anna Guérin of France.

She had been inspired by the poem “In Flanders Fields” written by Lieutenant Colonel John Mcrae.

McCrae was a Canadian who served as a brigade surgeon for an Allied artillery unit, spotted a cluster of poppies that spring, after the Second Battle of Ypres.

On Sept. 27, 1920, the poppy became the official flower of the American Legion Auxiliary, and in 1924 it became a national policy of the Legion to distribute these flowers.

The bright red flower is now known across the world for its ability to bring different nations together in its remembrance of those who have sacrificed their lives for their country.