The Lampasas American Legion Auxiliary Unit 277 will hold Poppy Day Wednesday. Auxiliary members will distribute poppies at various locations throughout the day. Contributions received will assist and provide multiple benefits to veterans.

The poppy’s significance dates back to the battlefields of Belgium during World War I when 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.

In November 1918, Moina Belle Michael, the “Poppy Lady,” from Georgia distributed poppies to businessmen and asked them to wear the poppy as a tribute to those who died in battle.

In 1920, American Legion conventioneers adopted the poppy as its memorial flower. A replica of the poppy has become the memorial flower of the American Legion Auxiliary.

The poppy program is the oldest and most widely recognized auxiliary program. The red crepe paper memorial poppies are handmade by disabled veterans in hospitals and poppy workrooms in 40 states.

When the American Legion Auxiliary adopted the poppy, it pledged 100 percent of the profits from poppy distribution to the welfare of service men and women and their families.

“During times of war and acts of terrorism, it has become more apparent that we need to show our gratitude and thank those men and women in uniform, including those who have paid the ultimate price so that we could remain living in a free country under God,” said Dorothy Briggs, poppy chairman.

“The American Legion Auxiliary believes there is no better way to say 'thank you’ than to wear a poppy as a reminder that we will 'always remember.'”