Remembering The 1st Veterans Memorialized By Veterans Day
Many Americans may have forgotten that Veterans Day began as a commemoration of World War I veterans. NPR's Kathleen Rushlow remembers her grandfather, who served in the 12th Machine Gun Battalion.
by Kathleen Kelley Rushlow
Nov 11, 2019
2 minutes
![](https://article-imgs.scribdassets.com/63myy04g747dque2/images/fileQFKBBO6R.jpg)
In the United Kingdom, Veterans Day is celebrated with red paper poppies pinned to lapels in remembrance of those who served in World War I. The practice caught on after the bloody battlefields of France bloomed with red poppies following the war. Every year British people wear these red flower pins for about a month leading up to Nov. 11, and buying one of these paper flowers funds veterans groups.
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