The annual Poppy drive for American Legion Post #101, in Somers will occur on Sunday, May 26, 2013, from 10AM-5PM, at the Geissler's Supermarket, located at 95 South Road (Rt. 83), in Somers.
The poppy drive will continue during the months of May and June, at various businesses in Somers, including Webster Bank and Ace Hardware, located on Main Street in Somers. Information on dates, times and locations can be found on our web site at: www.SomersPost101.org.
The American Legion adopted the little red flower as a memorial to all veterans. The Legion distributes the veteran-made flowers to raise money for disabled veterans and their families.The wild poppies that bloomed along the trenches, around the shell craters and the barbed wire and the wreckage of the battle also covered the graves of American fighting men who had fallen on the battlefield. They soon became the symbol of sacrifice to the living. A Canadian officer, Col. John McCrae immortalized the poppy in his famous poem, "In Flanders Fields." He later died during the war.
Returning servicemen from World War I brought with them memories of the battlefield poppies and the flower soon took on a sacred significance. The red blossoms became the flower of remembrance for the men whose lives had been lost in the defense of freedom. As a memorial emblem for the war dead, it underlined the plight of those who did not die, but returned permanently disabled.
The poppy soon became a symbol of honoring the dead and assisting the living victims of the war. Nationwide distribution of Memorial Poppies was begun by the American Legion and American Legion Auxiliary in 1921.
