[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 424 Enrolled Bill (ENR)]
H.Con.Res.424
Agreed to May 20, 2004
One Hundred Eighth Congress
of the
United States of America
AT THE SECOND SESSION
Begun and held at the City of Washington on Tuesday,
the twentieth day of January, two thousand and four
Concurrent Resolution
Whereas the red poppy was the first living plant that sprouted in the
battlefields devastated by fighting during World War I;
Whereas red poppies grew abundantly in the trenches and craters of the
war-torn battlefields in Northern France and Belgium;
Whereas during World War I, the bloom of red poppies each year and the
coming of the warm weather brought hope to those still fighting in
the trenches of France and Belgium;
Whereas in 1915, the red poppy inspired Canadian Colonel John McCrae to
write the poem ``In Flanders Fields'' in remembrance of the thousands
of soldiers who perished during the three battles of Ypres in
Belgium;
Whereas in 1918, John McCrae's poem inspired Moina Belle Michael of
Athens, Georgia, to write her own poem entitled ``We Shall Keep the
Faith'', in which she promised to wear a red poppy to memorialize
American soldiers killed in World War I, and later to raise millions
of dollars to support and employ disabled American veterans of all
wars;
Whereas on November 11, 1921, the first Poppy Day was held in the
United Kingdom and was a national success;
Whereas the red poppy is a symbol of sacrifice throughout the world;
Whereas the red poppy has been worn in the United States for more than
80 years as a way to remember those individuals who died fighting for
freedom and democracy around the world and to raise money to help
disabled veterans; and
Whereas in 2004, wearing a red poppy on Memorial Day is especially
timely considering the sacrifices United States soldiers are making
in Iraq and Afghanistan for freedom, democracy, and security: Now,
therefore, be it
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring),
That Congress honors past and current members of the Armed Forces of
the United States and their families by encouraging every American to
wear a red poppy on Memorial Day as a sign of admiration and thanks to
those individuals who died to preserve freedom and democracy in the
United States.
Attest:
Clerk of the House of Representatives.
Attest:
Secretary of the Senate.