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Since 1922, the "Buddy”® Poppy has been an integral
part of the VFW community. As VFW’s official memorial flower, the Poppy
represents the bloodshed by American service members. It reiterates that
ll not forget their sacrifices.
The Poppy movement was inspired by Canadian Army Col. John McCrae’s
famous poem, "In Flanders Fields.” Poppies were originally distributed
by the FrancoAmerican Children’s League to benefit children in the
devastated areas of France and Belgium following WWI. In 1922, VFW
conducted a campaign and got Poppies from France. Members soon
discovered it took too long to get the flowers in from France and they
came up with a better idea. Disabled, hospitalized and aging veterans
could make the paper flowers and ship them out to the members for
distribution.
And so it was known, for veterans in VA hospitals and domiciliaries
and in state veterans’ homes, every day would be VFW "Buddy”® Poppy Day.
These men and women assemble the Poppies, tie them in bunches of 10 and
pack them in boxes of 500, 1,000 or 2,000 for shipment to the Posts and
Auxiliaries. VFW pays the disabled veteran for the work. In most cases,
this extra money provides additional income for the worker to pay for
the little luxuries, which makes life more tolerable. Furthermore, Poppy
assembly is often used as a therapy program to provide exercise for
fingers and hands crippled by wounds, disease and the effects of old
age. Another reason Poppies are so important is because all proceeds
from distribution are used for veteran’s welfare or for the well being
of their needy dependents and the orphans of veterans. More than 2,300
children of veterans have been, or are being cared for in the VFW
National Home in Eaton Rapids, Michigan, thanks to a portion of Poppy
funds.