Modern Memorials

In the news recently, I came across one of the most interesting memorials I have ever seen. It was a memorial to World War I that the city of London organized, “planting” over 888,000 ceramic poppies near the Tower of London to remember all of the British men who died in the war. World War I was one of the most brutal wars to fight in. I just recently read the book All Quiet on the Western Front, which is about the Germans in the war. One part of the book that I will always remember is that the main character said that the only plant that would grow on the war-torn No Man’s Land in between the trenches were beautiful red poppies. They quickly became a symbol of the war. To memorialize the men lost in the war in this way is a beautiful but sad reminder of the cost of war. The memorial is temporary, only meant to remain in this field for a few weeks around the time of Great Britain’s Remembrance Day. Flowers are a beautiful way to memorialize, which is why they are used in most funerals. However, the ceramic red poppies will not fade or die, and serve as a better mode of remembrance.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/tower-of-london-poppy-moat-ww1-centenary-installation-almost-complete-ahead-of-remembrance-day-9823930.html