Poppy Day is Friday, May 5

The American Legion Auxiliary has designated May 5, 2017, as Poppy Day in Springfield.  Auxiliary members will be on the streets offering poppies in remembrance of men and women who have sacrificed their lives in service to United States citizens by defending our country.  Donations received will be used for disabled veterans and their families.

Poppies were the first flowers that grew in the battlefields of Flanders in Belgium during World War I and are a symbol of remembrance and hope.

The use of the poppy was inspired by the World War I poem, “In Flanders Fields.”  Its opening lines refer to the many poppies that were the first flowers to grow in the churned up earth of soldiers graves in Flanders, a region of Europe that overlies parts of Belgium and France. The poem was written by a Canadian physician after witnessing the death of a friend, a fellow soldier, the day before.  The poppy has been used since 1920 to honor this observance.