Poppy poster honors veterans

CINTHIA RITCHIE

June 12, 2008 at 3:33PM AKST

It looks like a simple red flower, the crepe-paper edges pinned against a coat collar or suit pocket.

The poppy flower, traditionally worn in the United States on Memorial Day, represents so much more. According to Karen Larum, the American Legion Auxiliary Unit 29 president, the flower is worn to honor all of those who have died for our country.

“It’s a symbol of hope,” she said.

Last month the legion spread some of that hope through a poppy contest at Seward Elementary School. Three first- and second-grade classrooms participated. The posters were judged by a panel and the winners chosen.

Lillian Crista’s poster won the Alaska state division and was sent on to the National Western District competition.

Lillian, 8, will start third grade this fall. Drawing the poster was harder than she expected, she said.

“It didn’t take long to draw and color,” she said. “I was watching other people’s ideas and thinking of what I wanted to do.”

Before the contest, she knew about poppies and the meaning behind them.

“My mom told me all that stuff,” she said.

She won a stuffed bear and some poppy seeds. She planted the seeds outside on her front porch. “They’re red,” she said.

Poppy history
According to Larum, poppy history stretches back to 1919, when red poppies began appearing in torn-up battlefields around Europe. Because they were often the first thing to bloom, they soon came to symbolize the blood of the soldiers who gave their lives for their countries.

The American Legion Auxiliary adopted the poppy as its memorial flower in 1921.

Since then, the flowers are distributed every Memorial Day for donation. They’re made of crepe paper by disabled veterans in 48 states, though not in Alaska since a VA hospital doesn’t exist up here, Larum said. The veterans are compensated for their work and fashion more than 25 million poppies each year.

Proceeds from the flowers amount to more than $2 million, every penny of which is devoted to veteran affairs and aid to veterans and their families, Larum said.

Here in Alaska, the poppy donations fund children and youth projects for veterans’ families. They also help send veterans to the wheelchair games and other activities.

“Not having a VA hospital up here in Alaska, our VA doesn’t get the money to send our veterans places,” she said.

The poppy is an economic boost to vital programs, Larum said, but more important, it represents valor and dedication.

“It’s a symbol of pride,” she said.

Cinthia Ritchie can be reached at (907) 342-2428 or toll free at (800) 770-9830, ext. 428.