Los Alamos County Councilor Pete Sheehey presents Marie Todd of the American Legion Auxiliary with a proclamation at Tuesday evening’s meeting in Council Chambers. Photo by Carol A. Clark/ladailypost.com
Councilor Rick Reiss joins the other councilors in giving a donation to Marie Todd of the American Legion Auxiliary who distributes poppies Tuesday. Photo by Carol A. Clark/ladailypost.com
Marie Todd of the American Legion Auxiliary distributes poppies to County Manager Harry Burgess and County Attorney Rebecca Ehler Tuesday evening. Photo by Carol A. Clark/ladailypost.com
Staff Report
The Los Alamos County Council issued a proclamation during Tuesday evening’s meeting in Council Chambers declaring Friday, May 29, 2015 as “Poppy Day” in Los Alamos County.
Marie Todd accepted the proclamation on behalf of the American Legion Auxiliary.
Poppy Day is a memorial day observed in Commonwealth of Nations member states since the end of the First World War to remember the members of their armed forces who have died in the line of duty. The day, specifically designated by King George V on 7 Nov. 7, 1919, or alternative dates, is also recognised as special days for war remembrances in many non-Commonwealth countries.
Poppy Day is observed on Nov. 11 to recall the end of hostilities of World War I on that date in 1918. Hostilities formally ended “at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month”, in accordance with the armistice signed by representatives of Germany and the Entente between 5:12 and 5:20 that morning. (“At the 11th hour” refers to the passing of the 11th hour, or 11 a.m.) The First World War officially ended with the signing of the Treaty of Versailles on June 28, 1919.
The memorial evolved out of Armistice Day, which continues to be marked on the same date. The initial Armistice Day was observed at Buckingham Palace, commencing with King George V hosting a “Banquet in Honour of the President of the French Republic” during the evening hours of Nov. 10, 1919. The first official Armistice Day was subsequently held on the grounds of Buckingham Palace the following morning.
The red remembrance poppy has become a familiar emblem of Remembrance Day due to the poem In Flanders Fields. These poppies bloomed across some of the worst battlefields of Flanders in World War I; their brilliant red colour became a symbol for the blood spilled in the war.
Source: wikipedia
Proclamation:
WHEREAS: The American Legion Auxiliary adopted the poppy as its memorial flower at its organization convention in Kansas City in October 1921; and
WHEREAS: The Auxiliary has pledged that proceeds from poppy sales will go to welfare relief for service men and women and their families, thus fulfilling the meaning of the poppy as an emblem of faith kept with all who have given their lives to preserve our freedom; and
WHEREAS: The red memorial poppies worn throughout the nation on Poppy Day are made by veterans in hospitals and workshops in forty states; poppies sold in Los Alamos are made by patients at the Veterans Administration Hospital in Albuquerque; and
WHEREAS: The citizens of Los Alamos are given an opportunity each year to pay tribute to all who have died in the service of our country, as well as an opportunity to help with the fine work of the American Legion and the American Legion Auxiliary, by wearing a poppy and thereby contributing to the American Legion Auxiliary’s service to the living;
NOW, THEREFORE, on behalf of the Council of the Incorporated County of Los Alamos, I do hereby proclaim Friday, May 29, 2015 as “POPPY DAY” in Los Alamos County, and urge our citizens to wear a poppy with pride on this occasion.
