Poppy Days 2017 – Friday May 19th and Saturday May 20th.

submitted by Liz Wallace

You will have the opportunity to honor our fallen warriors and contribute to the continuing needs of our veterans on Friday May 19th and Saturday May 20th, when members of the Manchester American Legion Auxiliary and the American Legion distribute bright red poppies for Memorial Day in exchange for a donation. The Flanders Field poppy has become an internationally known and recognized symbol of the lives sacrificed in war and the hope that none died in vain.

“Wear the poppy this Memorial Day weekend to honor and remember our fallen warriors who willingly served our nation and made the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom. We must never forget.”

The poppy also honors hospitalized and disabled veterans who hand craft many of the red crepe paper flowers. Making the poppies provides a financial and therapeutic benefit to the veterans, as well as a benefit to thousands of other veterans and their families through the donations collected.

In the battlefields of Belgium during World War I , poppies grew wild amid the ravages of war. The overturned soils of battle enabled the poppy seeds to be covered, allowing them to grow and forever serve as a reminder of the bloodshed of war.

So , look for Auxiliary and Legion members posted outside Manchester area businesses on May 19th & 20th selling poppies and make a donation/ wear a poppy ! Look also for the beautiful posters Manchester’s 4th graders created that are posted in windows of local businesses as well.

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by Sara Swanson

Sara Swanson is an editor, writer and founder of the Manchester Mirror.