Show HISTORY OF THE MEMORIAL POPPY i how a simple little wild flower became a symbol of exalted sacrifice was described in a story received recently by officers of the loc local il american legion auxiliary ter the story is as follows the wild poppy of france and flanders was the one touch of natures beauty which survived amid the death and destruction of the battle front it grew and bloomed around the trenches and shell holes it sprang up on the fresh graves of the battle dead and became aso associated socia ted in the thoughts of thi the soldiers with the sacrifice s ac oi of their f fallen alen comrades I 1 I 1 colonel john mccrae of tile the canadian forces saw the brave little itle flowers and wrote in flandera Fl andert fields the poppies blow between the crosses row on row giving immortal expression to the ieda poppies were first worn in america in tribute to the war dead on november 9 1918 two days before the armistice when miss moina michael lmichael of athens george distributed poppies at the YMCA head ou quarters arters in new york city in jure june 1919 thley they were sold on the streets street of milwaukee in connection with the homecoming of the thirty cond division the american legion adopted the poppy as its memorial isrial flower at its national convention in cleveland in 1920 and one of the first acts of the Auxilia rys I 1 first national convention in kansas city in 1921 was to make the poppy the memorial flower of tha auxiliary the british legion als also uses the poppy as its memorial I 1 flower and distributes millions I 1 throughout the world I 1 in addition to honoring honorl bg the dead the poppy brings more than C 00 each year for the work of the legion and auxiliary in behalf of the disabled veterans arid and the families of the dead and disabled |