Well, Memorial Day is Monday.
It's a day to remember and honor
the men and women who died while
serving in the US military.
Eric and Quist, a U.S.
Army veteran and VP of marketing at the USAA,
is now joining us live from the Poppy
honor wall all the way anew in Washington,
DC to share how San Diego can get involved.
Good morning, Eric.
Thanks for joining us.
Good morning. Great to
be with you. Thank you.
So if someone watching doesn't
know anything about the poppy
wall, tell us all about it.
Certainly the Poppy Wall was
actually started in 2016 as an
internal communication tool.
USAA is a financial services
company founded by the militaryr
the military in San Antonio, TX.
And we honor military traditions
and holidays each year,
one of which is Memorial Day where we
honor those who have sacrificed their life.
And the wall was created to buid
awareness of the true meaning bd
that holiday and we recognize
the opportunity now to bring ths
nationally to educate the publi.
The significance of Memorial
Day is what you see here.
The wall has been erected
in DC now for four years.
Brief hiatus in 2020 and 2021.
But last year and this year,
we're back and honored to be on
National Mall in our nation's capital
on this very important holiday weekend.
And Eric, tell me,
what does the poppy symbolize?
And I see so many behind you.
It looks like thousands of them.
That's right. The poppy is a
national symbol of remembrance.
In the case behind the acrylic
in the 133 foot long wall,
9 feet high, or 645,000 poppies,
each one of those poppies repres
one life lost since World War On
the history of American armed conflict.
All of those servicemen and womn
who have died in defense of the
freedoms that many of us enjoy,
not just every day,
but certainly this weekend
as we welcome summer.
What a beautiful representation.
All those lives that we now can remember.
Now if you're here in San Diego,
obviously we can't be in Washin,
DC How can we as a community get involved?
There are many ways to get invo.
You can be part of the national
discussion here in DC On the ree
side of the wall are a series of
panels that talk about the histy
of armed conflict for Americans.
We also have a new addition,
which is a digital wall.
And it's compiling all of images that
people from across the country e
taking and posting on social me.
We encourage everyone in San Diego to
do the same and make sure you tt
hashtag poppy and memory and so we can
include your pictures on the wall here.
We also encourage you just to
visit AVFW or American Legion Hl
in your local area and get a.
Free poppy.
Wear it on your lapel and engaged friends
and family members in conversatn
as everyone goes about their lis
this weekend and enjoying beautl
weather and backyard barbecues.
Have a moment and remember the e
significance behind this holida?
Absolutely, Eric and you.
Being in Washington, DC,
we don't really get to see
the people around the wall,
but what is it like there right?
It's incredible.
It's beautiful weather here.
We've got thousands of
people on the National Mall.
We expect to see 10s of thousans
of of citizens come here,
Look at the actual wall here ben
the Lincoln Memorial and the
reflecting pool on the National Mall.
It really is an incredible sight
to behold when you realize how,
how big of a structure it
takes to represent all of the
fallen service members.
Very emotionally impactful.
Absolutely. What better
way to spend Memorial Day,
especially in Washington DC?
And if you can't, like you said
here in San Diego, you could doo
virtually as well on social med.
Again, one more time, Eric,
give us an idea of where we can find you,
learn more and participate.
As before,
History of the Poppy and Historf
American conflict with Memorialy
can get be found on our websitet
usaa.com/memorialday.
And if you want to be involved.
Please post your images on social media,
hashtag, poppy and memory. Well,
thank you so much, Eric.
I need to get one of those lapels to wear
on my shirt for Monday and our broadcast.
So of course all of us here at .
So happy to have you and explain such
an impactful movement. Thank yo.