How the red poppy became the official symbol to honor fallen soldiers on Memorial Day

Part of a continuing weekly series on local history by local historian David Reamer. Have a question about Anchorage history or an idea for a future article? Go to the form at the bottom of this story.

For those who have visited the Anchorage Memorial Park Cemetery during previous Memorial Days, the sight this year will be familiar. As in years past, Anchorage’s American Legion Auxiliary Jack Henry Unit 1 has organized a group of volunteers, including from the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1685 and Boy Scouts Troop 125. About 7,000 red poppy-laden white crosses will adorn the 600 veterans’ graves in the American Legion tracts. Another 1,000 poppies will be placed throughout the cemetery and columbarium.

The poppy is the official memorial flower of the American Legion, and their tradition of distributing red poppies on Memorial Day dates back more than a century, including in Anchorage. The flowers and pageantry of the holiday serve as reminders that those who died in defense of this nation are not forgotten, however long ago their sacrifice occurred. But time tends to erode details. Today, many in Anchorage do not know how Memorial Day came to be or what the red poppies represent. The following history lesson serves as a needed reminder.

The basic concept of Memorial Day — a day of remembrance for fallen soldiers — dates back thousands of years. Ancient Greeks and Romans had annual festivals with feasts and ritual placement of flowers on graves. Similarly, there were local observances across the United States before the establishment of a standardized Memorial Day. More small towns than could be reasonably listed here claim to have been the site of the first such commemoration. But the modern American version of the holiday traces directly back to 1868 and the first iteration of what was then called Decoration Day.

Three years after the end of the Civil War, many Americans were still struggling with the scale of the bloodshed. Roughly 2.5% of the total American population died in the conflict, about one in five soldiers. Even if an American did not personally know someone who died in the war, the gaps in the population, of generations shrunken by loss, were inescapably visible.

On May 30, 1868, a group of Union veterans, the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR), organized the first major Decoration Day and declared that it should be celebrated annually on the same date. The last detail was an important distinction as previous such commemorations were typically one-off events. The ceremony was held at Arlington National Cemetery, which allowed for a healthy contingent of politicians to make the journey from Washington, D.C. The presiding officials included a future president, Gen. Ulysses S. Grant.

After the expected series of speeches, children and members of the GAR walked the cemetery. They sang, prayed and tossed flowers onto the graves. Notably, they included the graves of both Union and Confederate soldiers.

Gen. John A. Logan, leader of the GAR, declared, “The 30th of May 1868, is designated for the purpose of strewing with flowers, or otherwise decorating the graves of comrades who died in defense of their country ... Let pleasant paths invite the coming and going of reverent visitors and fond mourners. Let no neglect, no ravages of time, testify to the present or to the coming generations that we have forgotten as a people the cost of a free and undivided republic.”

The scope of the 1868 Decoration Day at Arlington fulfilled its ambition. The number of local memorial days increased rapidly in the succeeding years, generally keeping to the May 30 date. Over time there were a few changes. After several decades, “Memorial Day” became the accepted name. After World War I, the intent of the holiday was extended to honor all Americans who died in military service. And the 1968 Uniform Monday Holiday Act, which took effect in 1971, redefined Memorial Day as the last Monday in May.

The red poppy portion of modern Memorial Day celebrations has a World War I origin. The 1915 Second Battle of Ypres in western Belgium was the site of one of the true horrors of the modern age. For the first time, Allied forces on the Western front experienced poison gas. On just April 22, the Germans fired 168 tons of the heavier-than-air chlorine gas into Allied positions. By the end of the lengthy, bloody battle, an estimated 69,000 Allied and 35,000 German troops were dead.

Among the survivors was Lt. Col. John McCrae, a Canadian serviceman and published poet. After the burial of his dear friend, Lt. Alexis Helmer, McRae wrote “In Flanders Fields,” reportedly alternating his eyes back and forth from the page to Helmer’s fresh grave while writing. The entirety of the poem is as follows:

In Flanders fields where the poppies blow

Between the crosses, row on row,

That mark our place; and in the sky

The larks, still bravely singing, fly

Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago

We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,

Love and were loved, and now we lie,

In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:

To you from failing hands we throw

A torch; be yours to hold it high.

If ye break faith with us who die

We shall not sleep, though poppies grow

In Flanders fields.

Flanders is the northern, Dutch-speaking portion of Belgium, which includes the town of Ypres. Those that lived often commented on the little flowers. Amidst the death and sundered earth, the red poppy was quick to grow. As noted by McRae, this included on the graves of recently fallen soldiers.

In 1919, nearly a year after the war ended, a group of British officers toured the former battlegrounds in France and Belgium. The passage of time shocked them. One of the officers noted, “No Man’s Land everywhere is covered with a mass of scarlet poppies, and the disappearance of the rusted barbed wire makes one almost forget the place was ever the most desolate prospect a man ever saw. But the trenches are still there and so is much of the timber, both startling reminders of the days when we did not know just what was going to happen next.”

The poem spread rapidly, virally among Allied soldiers and staff, then worldwide after its first publication that December. It was one of, if not the most, republished poems of its era. As a literary work, it was utilized in several ways, but its most enduring effect is the connection between red poppies and fallen soldiers.

Though the United States was a late entry to the war, the conflict still impacted the new railroad town of Anchorage. Many young residents enlisted in the Army; some did not return. John “Jack” Henry was the first man from Anchorage to die in the war, killed in the French Cierges Woods. In 1919, the American Legion Jack Henry Post #1 was founded in Anchorage. Four years later, the post’s auxiliary unit was formed. A future article will dive deeper into the history of both Henry and the local Legion post.

The American Legion made the poppy its official memorial flower in 1920. By that time, many individual Legion posts were distributing poppies on Memorial Day. In 1924, the American Legion adopted the poppy program as one of its national initiatives.

Poppies were already popular flowers in Anchorage, and the seeds for more were widely shared. There was both competition and camaraderie among the early local gardeners. The first recorded instance of the American Legion in Anchorage distributing red poppies on Memorial Day came in 1921. The Jack Henry Post sponsored a patriotic musical program at the Empress Theatre, Anchorage’s first theater. Then as now, the Boy Scouts assisted. Everyone attending received a poppy, “replicas of those that grow in Flanders.”

The show was a somber affair, featuring contemporary Memorial Day standards like “There Is No Death” and “Tenting Tonight on the Old Camp Ground.” There was, of course, a reading of “In Flanders Fields,” and the program concluded with the audience rising to sing “America the Beautiful.” With respects given to the deceased, the crowds dispersed to eat, have fun, and celebrate life. Many traveled to what were essentially the party lakes of 1921: Lake Spenard, Lake Otis and Otter Lake. They danced, fished and enjoyed the sunny day.

Two years later, the Jack Henry Post bought every single poppy in town and gave them away. In context, the post’s actions were exceptional. Most Legion posts then charged for poppies. The proceeds covered the costs of decorating overseas American graves. However, the members of the Jack Henry post wanted to honor the support from locals and simply asked that everyone wear a poppy “out of respect to the memory of their ‘buddies.’ ” As the Anchorage Daily Times described it, “Wear a Flander poppy tomorrow and remember that when you receive your poppy from the American Legion, another one is being placed on the grave of some American hero who is sleeping the last sleep in far off France.”

One of the more remarkable human abilities is our capacity to survive terrors, albeit a capability frequently and sorely tested. Consider the number of tragedies that happened within just the past year. That our memories eventually fade over time can be considered a defensive response. The trauma continues to exist, but the edges become dull. This is how we deal with loss. Few would long endure if every sorrow and wound remained forever raw.

Yet, there are some things we should never forget. Memorial Day and the fields of red poppies are a reminder to not forget the human costs of yesterday that provide us with our now and tomorrow.

Key sources:

Hardon, Scott. History of Jack Henry Post #1. American Legion Jack Henry Post #1.

“Honor Paid to Departed Heroes.” Anchorage Daily Times, May 31, 1921, 1.

“Legionnaires Give Poppis to Citizens.” Anchorage Daily Times, May 29, 1923, 4.

“Nature Blotting Out Scars of the War.” Anchorage Daily Times, September 22, 1919, 7.

Ostnes, Jeanne. Communication with author, April 8, 2022.

“Ready Response Given to Flower Suggestion.” Anchorage Daily Times, May 17, 1921, 5.