Poppy signifies remembrance of fallen soldiers
By Hayden Seder
Maren Moss gifted her United States Air Force veteran father Jim with a ceramic poppy from an historic collection years ago, and he in turn loaned it to the annual Memorial Day ceremony held at the Hailey Cemetery.
On Dec. 26, the Moss family gathered to donate the poppy for permanent display.
The journey to its final resting place in Hailey began when Maren Moss purchased the poppy from the “Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red” display, a compilation of 888,246 ceramic poppies handmade by citizens of England in 2013 and 2014 to represent one of the many fatalities of British Commonwealth soldiers, sailors and airmen who perished in World War I.
The exhibit was displayed at the Tower of London from July 17, 2014, through Nov. 11, 2014 (Armistice Day), to commemorate the dates of the beginning and end of the war in 1914-1918. More than 5 million people are estimated to have visited the exhibition in the four months it was displayed.
When the display was discontinued, Moss’s daughter requested to purchase one of the poppies to give to her father as a special Christmas gift. The poppy arrived in March of 2015 and has been featured prominently at both their home and the Hailey Cemetery ever since.
Geegee Lowe, who organizes the annual Hailey ceremony, explained that the poppy has always been a mascot to the cemetery. Red poppies are significant worldwide as a representation of fallen soldiers.
“I just love the poppy,” Lowe said. “When people see it, you know their thoughts are with our veterans.”
Since the original display of ceramic poppies was outdoors, each poppy received varying degrees of weather beating and damage, making each one unique. Each is handmade, as well, meaning no two are alike. With each ceramic poppy comes a certificate of authenticity, which the cemetery will keep in its offices.
The poppy is currently in a framed shadow box lined with velvet.
“We might have it in the office or outside in some kind of display,” Lowe said. “It’s a process. We’re doing research.”
To see where other poppies have landed and how they are displayed is relatively easy, thanks to a digital map of the poppies available online. The Hailey Cemetery will be signing up for this to add to the digital map that is available at wired.co.uk/article/14-18-launch-tower-of-london-poppies-search-digital-map.
