Minot State University marks Poppy Day
Minot State University celebrated Poppy Day in honor of veterans on Friday. Attendees at a brief ceremony wore poppies in their lapels and listened to MSU President Steve Shirley recite the moving poem “In Flanders Fields.”
The poppy is symbolic of the blood shed by those who served in the military. The poppy is also worn by people in England and Canada as a celebration of veterans on their Remembrance Day, also known as Armistice Day and Poppy Day, according to the proclamation read by Shirley. The American Legion has dubbed May 26 as Poppy Day.
At Minot State the day has particular significance, since many veterans are students at MSU, said Shirley. Andy Heitkamp, director of the Veterans Center at the university, helped organize the ceremony and a “search and discover mission” for the graves of veterans in the First Lutheran Church cemetery adjacent to the university.
History professor Joseph Jastrzembski said he hopes that the university will be able to commemorate two MSU students who died during World War I by planting elm trees.
The students, Henry Finn and Otis Cooper, had previously had trees planted in their honor. One tree had to be taken down in 2010 because it was a safety hazard and there is no memorial plaque to mark the second tree.
This year marks the 100th anniversary of the United States’ entrance into World War I in Europe.
Shirley and Heitkamp urged those attending to remember veterans on Memorial Day on Monday as well.