Poppies, A Symbol of Remembrance at Eaglesfield

Since 1921, the Rembrance Poppy has been worn on the left lapel, closest to one's heart. The trend was adopted by military veterans groups in parts of the former British Empire, the United Kingdom, Canada, United States, Australia and New Zealand.

Moina Belle Michael
"The Poppy Lady"
1869-1944

Born in Good Hope, Georgia, daughter of a Confederate veteran, Moina Michael taught at the Health Sciences Campus at what is now known as the University of Georgia. As the United States entered World War I, Moina took leave from UGA and volunteered to assist in the New York-based training headquarters for overseas Y.W.C.A. workers. 

Moina conceived the idea of using poppies as a symbol of remembrance for those who served in World War I after reading "In Flanders Field" by John McCrae.  The Saturday morning before Armistice, (November 9, 1918), a young soldier placed a copy of the Ladies Home Journal on her desk.  That evening, she saw a marked page that held McCrae's poem that was illustrated in vivid, beautiful color.  After reading the last verse, she resolved to keep the faith and always wear a red poppy as a sign of remembrance of all who died.

At that moment, three men appeared before her bringing a check for $10 from the Twenty-Fifth Conference of the Overseas Y.M.C.A War Secretaries.  This money was in appreciation of her efforts of making headquarters "more like home."  She decided that she would use it to buy red poppies, told the men what she was going to do, and then showed them McCrae's published poem. The men took the magazine back with them to the conference room in Hamilton Hall.  When the Conference adjourned, the men requested poppies from Moina, and the idea took hold.  She set out looking for artificial poppies that afternoon in New York City, bringing back the first poppies to be pinned on lapels in honor of those laid to rest.

After the war was over, Moina returned to UGA and taught disabled servicemen.  Realizing they needed physical, mental and financial support, she pursued selling silk poppies as a means to raise funds for the disabled vets.   The idea was adopted by many organizations.  By the time of Moina's  death in 1944, poppy sales had raised more than $200 million for disabled veterans in the United States, Great Britain, Canada and other countries.  Since then, poppy sales have raised hundreds of millions more.  As a result of Moina's tireless campaigning, dedication for the cause and inspiration her idea gave to others, the delicate four petal red field poppy has become an internationally-recognized symbol of Remembrance and welfare for war veterans.  Four years after her death, the U.S. Postal Service honored Moina for her poppy efforts on a stamp. 

Animal Aid in Britain issued a purple poppy, which can be worn alongside the traditional red one, as a reminder that both humans and animals have been, and still are, victims of war.  White poppies were adopted in the United Kingdom in 1933 by the Co-Operative Women's Guild and The Peace Pledge Union in 1934 as a symbol of peace.  Anti-war organizations such as the Anglican Pacifist Fellowship now support the White Poppy Movement.

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