Mount Vernon Legion Auxiliary president Pat Sorgenfrey reminded citizens to be on the lookout for poppy distribution in the Mount Vernon communities the weekends of May 20 through 21 and May 27 through Memorial Day.
The Girl Scouts of America will help with poppy distribution at area businesses, and poppies will also be available at the Boy Scouts pancake breakfast to be held Memorial Day.
A former American Legion president stated “let every American wear a memorial poppy in honor of veterans and let everyone pause if only for a moment on Memorial Day to honor those who have given their lives to protect the freedoms we hold dear.”
The poppy was designated the flower to memorialize deceased veterans who passed away due to the numerous poppy fields that lined the battlefields and later the cemeteries where many soldiers who passed away in World War I were found, especially after the poem “On Flanders Field” was written.
Since 1924, members of the legion auxiliary have been distributing poppies to be worn to honor those fallen soldiers.