This was the first Veterans Day I can remember that I didn't wear an American flag pinned to my lapel. It was a shock to think I was not showing support for past and present troops. It got me to thinking about my childhood and all the summers spent with my grandparents. Most days we would be down at the VFW either working a pancake breakfast, bake sale, local county fair or just visiting other veterans who needed two very strong kids to do chores around their houses. These thoughts made me miss both sets of grandparents so much I about cried when I saw two Canadian veterans selling poppy pins in the mall that afternoon.
A poppy pin? Yeah, I had that question too. I was confused on it's significance. Why wouldn't someone wear a Canadian flag? Well, there's nothing like a vet to tell you what it means so I'll sum up what he told Goose and I before we each purchased one to wear proudly upon the left lapel of our jackets, which puts it as close to your heart as possible.
"Young lady, the red poppy has two meanings. The first is the red petals which represent the respect we pay to those that have served, who are still among us today and those that continue to serve for our freedom. The black center is the homage we pay to the people who have died in service to keep those freedoms alive. Lest we forget that our freedom takes both kinds of people."
I found out later that the poppy was chosen due to their abundant blooms across fields during WWI and made immortal in a poem called In Flanders Fields. I felt I could respect the efforts of all veterans by supporting them no matter where they served, for the sacrifice is still the same.
Eagle Out
Nice post! Very interesting to hear about the Canadian version of Veterans day. I was just in Belgium last year, and they provide very in depth tours of WWI sites, specifically Flanders Field.
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