In 1920, she convinced Georgia’s chapter of the American Legion to recognize the poppy as a symbol. She also lobbied to make the red poppy a national memorial symbol, so others could do the same. After the war ended, she decided to craft and sell red silk poppies to raise money to support the returning veterans.

Michael found her first fabric poppies at a local department store, where she bought a handful for herself and to pass out to her colleagues. That's where Moina Michael, a professor at the University of Georgia, first came across “In Flanders Field.” Unable to get it out of her mind, she vowed to always wear a red poppy in remembrance of those who were lost at that battle. Mourners read it at countless memorial services, used it in efforts to recruit soldiers and reprinted it in countless publications, including Ladies Home Journal. McCrae’s poem, published in London’s Punch magazine in December 1915, was an instant success. Getty Images In the U.S., a professor made them a memorial Told from the perspective of the fallen soldiers buried beneath the poppies, it honored the troops who lost their lives in that conflict: Overcome with sorrow, he wrote the poem “In Flanders Field” to channel his grief. Soon after, a huge battle tore through the area, killing 87,000 allied soldiers, including one of McCrae’s closest friends. He noticed a cluster of poppies blanketing Flanders Field in Belgium that spring, where he was serving as a brigade surgeon for an Allied artillery unit. 75 Surprising Flower Meanings With PicturesĪccording to the History Channel, Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae was particularly moved by the red flowers he saw popping up all over the Europe after the human conflicts had quieted.

The story behind the remembrance poppy