[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.