Friday, April 24, 2026 |
Photo – Remembrance Day poppy – Bigfoot99 file photo
In Saratoga, town officials have declared May 31st as Poppy Day in honor of fallen service members.
During the April 15th Saratoga Town Council meeting, Clerk Jennifer Anderson announced that the American Legion Auxiliary has asked the governing body to recognize May 31st as Poppy Day. Clerk Anderson added that the group is requesting residents to wear a poppy in honor of those who have lost their lives fighting for our country.
Poppy Day, also known as Remembrance Day in many countries, is dedicated to honoring military personnel who died in service. The observance centers on the red poppy, a symbol inspired by the 1915 war poem In Flanders Fields, written by Canadian physician Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae. In his writing, Lieutenant McCrae noted that red poppies were among the first plants to bloom in the war‑torn soil of World War I France and Belgium.
The American Legion Auxiliary’s Poppy Day proclamation states that America is a land of freedom, preserved and protected by citizen soldiers, millions of whom have died in battle. It adds that a nation at peace should be reminded of the cost of war by wearing a memorial poppy as a symbol of lives lost in all wars.
The Saratoga Town Council unanimously voted to recognize May 31st as Poppy Day.
