Red Poppy

November 12, 2008

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Photographer: Chuck Hemrick
Summary Author: Chuck Hemrick, Stu Witmer

The poppy is a lovely annual flower with vividly bright leaves. A number of types of poppies grow in various places all over the world, but the red poppy is the recognized symbol in many nations for war remembrance and for disabled veterans. This symbolic flower has been around for thousands of years, however, the tradition of associating the poppy with those fallen in war stems from World War I and is thanks to Dr. John McCrae's famous poem "In Flanders Field." In the United States the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) began having red "Buddy Poppies" made by disabled veterans in 1923. Of all the common garden flowers, the poppy is one of the most important in regards to medicinal purposes. The pain medicines morphine and codeine are two familiar drugs made from the poppy. The photo above showing a field of red poppies was taken in Danbury, North Carolina on May 26, 2008.

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