Wall of poppies on National Mall honors 600,000 Americans who died in battle since WWI

One side of the 133-foot-long exhibit set up near the base of the Lincoln Memorial tells the stories of decades of American soldiers killed in action around the globe. The other side is a blazing red wall of 600,000 poppies, the flower forever linked by the World War I poem “In Flanders Fields” to those who have died fighting for freedom.

The somber display, which features thousands of distinctive red flowers pressed between protective panes of glass, is known as the Poppy Wall of Honor. The visually stunning tribute to America’s war dead returned to the National Mall over Memorial Day weekend to honor the sacrifices of military men and women.

“Each one represents an individual who gave their life in defense of the nation since World War I,” said retired Army Maj. Gen. John Richardson, head of military affairs for USAA, the Texas-based financial services firm that sponsors the wall.

“From World War I through the global war on terror, 600,000 Americans have made the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom and in defense of our Constitution,” said Gen. Richardson, a former commander of the Army’s 1st Cavalry Division.

Displaying a red poppy to honor war dead is a tradition long associated with the British. It can be traced back to the creation of the poem written by Canadian Army doctor John McCrae when he saw a field of poppies churned up by the fighting and shelling on the western front in 1915.

                “In Flanders fields, the poppies blow

                Between the crosses, row on row,

                That mark our place; and in the sky

                The larks, still bravely singing, fly

                Scarce heard amid the guns below …”

For years after World War I, the victorious Allies all celebrated Armistice Day on Nov. 11. The British Commonwealth countries later called it Remembrance Day. It became Veterans Day in the U.S.

The first national observance of Memorial Day, then called Decoration Day, was on May 30, 1868, to honor the Union soldiers killed during the Civil War. After the two world wars broadened its scope to honor all U.S. war dead, Congress in 1968 changed its observance to the last Monday in May. In 1971, the name was standardized as “Memorial Day.”

The use of poppies fell out of common practice in the U.S. once Armistice Day became Veterans Day, which honors everyone who has served in the military, both living and dead. Since the 1970s, veterans groups such as the American Legion and the Veterans of Foreign Wars have been pushing to bring back the flower as a symbol for Memorial Day.

Kenny Jary was a sailor in the U.S. Navy from the late 1950s to the mid-1960s. He visited the Poppy Wall of Honor to pay his respects to Americans who had died in uniform and to honor fellow veterans who served during the Cuban missile crisis in October 1962.

“I came here to get an education about the poppies. I had never heard of the ‘Poppy Wall,’” Mr. Jary said. “I’m just so proud to be here.”

Gen. Richardson, who served multiple combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, said the Poppy Wall of Honor has a dual purpose. The side bedecked with crimson flowers is for remembrance and honor, and the other is about education.

He doesn’t begrudge people who want to simply enjoy the three-day weekend.

“That’s what the 600,000 Americans who died were fighting for. They did it so that we ‘can’ gather together in the backyard to kick off summer,” Gen. Richardson said. “All we ask … is to take a moment on that weekend to remember, honor and thank those who made that sacrifice.”

Eduardo Hernandez and his son, Alexander, stopped by the Poppy Wall of Honor during the family’s two-week trip to Washington from their home in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

“Every day, we’re doing an experience or a museum. Today, we’re going around the Mall, hitting all the monuments, and just educating him on the history,” said Mr. Hernandez, a veteran of the Army and the Air Force who fought in uniform during the global war on terror.

“His grandfather was in World War II. History is more relevant when he has a connection to it,” he said. “We’re just trying to lay the foundation to bring up a good person.”

Mr. Hernandez said the site of the wall covered in more than a half-million poppies was “pretty intense.”

“It’s a good reminder that there’s a cost to everything,” he said. “It’s important that knowledge, history and heritage is passed on to the next generation so it’s not forgotten.”

Alexander, 8, said the Poppy Wall of Honor was both “brutal” and “kind of cool.”

“I know for a fact that my teacher would never teach me this,” he said.

The Department of Veterans Affairs has been hosting Memorial Day ceremonies over the weekend at more than 130 VA national cemeteries nationwide. They expected at least 100,000 people to attend.

“I encourage Americans to join us at VA cemeteries across the country … to reflect on the tremendous debt we owe these fallen warriors,” said VA Secretary Doug Collins. “Their sacrifices have helped make America the greatest place on earth, and their legacies of courage and commitment inspire us to reach new heights.”