Emma Bonser, a junior auxiliary member of Shoemaker-Haydt Unit 314 American Legion Auxiliary, has been named the organization's Little Miss Poppy for 2017-18.

Bonser, 10, the daughter of Paula and Jeremy Bonser, is a fourth-grade student at Franklin Elementary.She is active in competitive cheering and loves animals.The auxiliary held a memorial service Tuesday to honor deceased unit members in the past year.National Poppy Day is May 26.After World War I, the poppy flourished in Europe and became a symbol of the sacrifices made by Americans and allied service members around the world.Soldiers returning from World War I brought home the flowers in memory of the barren landscape transformed by the sudden growth of wild red poppies among the newly dug graves.LaRue Fritz is in her 19th year as poppy chairwoman for Unit 314 and is also a poppy chairwoman for Four County Council, made up of Carbon, Lehigh, Monroe and Northampton counties.Deborah DeCindio is president of Shoemaker-Haydt Unit 314 American Legion Auxiliary.