Guns firing in the distance. Soldiers feet stomping and splashing upon the cool, clear liquid that soon turns to a dark, evil blood-red color. Memorial Day celebrates the people who took the time to help protect and honor our country. Memorial Day is a holiday where everyone, whether you’re a different religion or you have a different colored skin, remembers the time those soldiers stood on the battle field not to just fight and not to be killed, but to show that those people fought and gave up their lives for our country. Memorial Day isn’t odds and ends; it’s a piece of this world we live in.

As I have claimed before, Memorial Day has a meaning. It’s as if it is a key to unlock an item that is so worthwhile. Memorial Day was also known as Decoration Day. It’s as if the word decoration was a useless word and the word memorial was replaced because it sounded like a more professional word. A general named General John Logan officially proclaimed this special day on May 5, 1860. Now you may be wondering, “Who is General John Logan?” Trust me, the first time I saw that name, I was as clueless as most people are. He was a national commander of the Grand Army of the Republic. Every time I think of Memorial Day, my mind will always land on that special person. General John Logan.

In Memorial Day, most people call it an outdoor day. Everyone would go outside and have cookouts or barbeques. I remember still the taste of the juicy, soft steak that literally melts in my mouth, and the sweet, buttery corn that is so succulent, my mouth is watering now. But there is another way to celebrate Memorial Day. In 1915, John McCrae wrote a poem called, “In Flanders Fields”. This is the most interesting, jaw-dropping poem I have ever read before. Here is the poem:

“In Flanders fields 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,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.


Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The 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.”
Inspired by this wonderful, exotic poem, a woman named “Moina Michael replied with her own poem:

We cherish too, the Poppy red
That grows on fields where valor led,
It seems to signal to the skies
That blood of heroes never dies.”
Because of this, Moina Michael then came up with the idea to wear red poppies on Memorial Day as a celebration accessory. She was the first to wear one and she sold some to friends, co-workers, and many others to celebrate this one of a kind event. The next time you see something about Memorial Day, don’t ignore it, and respect it!