USAA Poppy Wall of Honor returns to the National Mall
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This Memorial Day weekend, USAA's Poppy Wall of Honor will return to the National Mall in Washington, D.C. for the seventh year.
The temporary exhibit features more than 600,000 poppies, each representing the military members lost in service to our country since World War I.
In a time where less than half of US adults understand the significance of the holiday, the Poppy Wall serves as a visual tribute that honors those that made the ultimate sacrifice for our freedoms, while educating visitors on the purpose of Memorial Day.
The Poppy Wall of Honor is filled with more than 600,000 VFW "Buddy Poppies" and American Legion Memorial Poppies -- both assembled by veteran volunteers.
This year marks the seventh year that USAA has installed the temporary exhibit on the National Mall to honor and remember
the service members who gave their lives in service to our country since World War I.
"The Poppy Wall of Honor stands as a powerful reminder that behind every poppy is a service member who gave their life in service to our country -- and a family forever changed by that sacrifice," said Juan C. Andrade, president and CEO of USAA. "Memorial Day is a time to pause, reflect and honor those who never came home. We share a responsibility to remember their service and the freedoms they helped protect."
Inspired by "In Flanders Fields," a World War I poem by John McCrae, the poppy became a universal symbol of remembrance, after it was brought forward by Moina Michael, an American professor and volunteer for the American YWCA, during the National American Legion Conference in 1920.
For those unable to visit the Poppy Wall of Honor in Washington, D.C., other ways that Americans can honor the day include:
• Discover stories of the fallen with #PoppyInMemory on social media and join the conversation to keep their memory alive.
• Wear a poppy on your shirt or lapel.
• Fly the American flag at half-staff until noon Monday, May 25, to honor those who have fallen, and raise it to full staff through sunset to pay tribute to surviving veterans and those currently serving.
• Observe the National Moment of Remembrance at 3 p.m. local time on Memorial Day.
• Visit a local military memorial to honor the ultimate sacrifice of our nation's heroes.