BELIZE EX-SERVICES LEAGUE LAUNCHED THE SCARLET POPPY TODAY

November 01, 2007

The Belize Ex-Services League today launched the Scarlet Poppy, which is a symbol and tribute to all the men who lost their lives in World War I and II. This is the first activity that will lead up to a week of activities in honor of Veterans Week. President of the Belize Ex-services League, Bernard Adolphus, tells us more about the importance of remembering our war veterans and observing Veterans Week.

Bernard Adolphus,President of the Belize Ex-services League:

“We have a tendency to forget what our elderly folks have done for us. My mission is to keep the fire burning so that we can always provide and continue making sure that it’s important that those that are left behind are taken care of because without them, we would have not been here. So we have to pay homage to those gentlemen. That’s the reason why we requested our patron, the governor general to come here himself to give us his blessing and to allow us to pin the poppy on him as a symbolic gesture so that our public can be aware, particularly our young people to be aware of the sacrifice that was made by our veterans. We are only holding on to the baton on this instant but we must never forget what these men have done and that’s the reason why we’re here to remember those who served and contributed for this country and others. Not only Belizeans, but today we are zeroing on our Belizeans.”

Adolphus tell us more about the significance of the scarlet puppy.

Bernard Adolphus,President of the Belize Ex-services League:

“In World War 1 Colonel John Mc Creed, he was a medical officer penned the poem called Flanders Field because when you look at the field, all the poppies were where all the fallen had fell where the dead was buried or fallen and the red poppy started growing there. It was symbolically removed and used as a tool to help those in remembrance. It was sometimes red or green or red with green or red poppy with black and it all depends on the different times of the year and hence it was adopted through the Commonwealth and the poppy we have today is used as a tool so that we can generate income for the many men who are in need and that’s what we do and medical expenses is a serious problem for us. What we do with whatever we get, we have a welfare team that goes out or homecare visits who visits the house and sometimes the branches all over the country report that they have a veteran who is in need or who is in trouble and they need assistant. Based on that, if it’s medical we ask them by purchasing their medication and we would help them with half of it, some of it or in most case all.”

Veterans Week will be celebrated from Monday November 5^th through to November 11^th. Poppies can be bought from members of the Ex-services League.

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