![]() According to a report by the History Channel, a brigade surgeon for an Allied artillery unit in Belgium, Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, was deeply moved by that fact. ![]() Poppies are resilient plants-they grow in all sorts of desolate, unfriendly landscapes, including battlefields. Whether actual flowers are plucked for the occasion or a fabric or crepe paper stand-in is used, the meaning of the red poppy remains clear: It symbolizes the memory of fallen soldiers, and-like our favorite thoughtful Memorial Day quotes-it acts as a way of keeping our attention on the most important part of the holiday.īut when did the red poppy became a national emblem of remembrance-and more interestingly, how did this particular bloom become the official Memorial Day flower in the first place? To explain, we'll have to rewind all the way back to the early 1900s. As the holiday approaches, you'll notice these vivid flowers everywhere: pinned onto clothing, tied onto rearview mirrors, or hanging from windowpanes. In the past century, a symbol emerged to represent that ultimate sacrifice: red poppies. ![]() This is not Veteran's Day, it's not a celebration, it is a day of solemn contemplation over the cost of freedom." As author Tamra Bolton writes, "This is the day we pay homage to all those who didn't come home. First and foremost, the federal holiday is about honoring the millions of brave heroes who gave their lives for our country. Hear from those who assemble the mighty little flowers in "The Veterans Behind the Buddy Poppy" video.Odds are, you're aware that Memorial Day is about much, much more than cookouts and lakeside trips with the family. ![]() Host a Buddy Poppy drive in your town, or have your local government issue a special proclamation. The VFW Buddy Poppy program provides compensation to the veterans who assemble the poppies, provides financial assistance in maintaining state and national veterans' rehabilitation and service programs and partially supports the VFW National Home For Children. Today, our Buddy Poppies are still assembled by disabled and needy veterans in VA Hospitals. No other organization, firm or individual can legally use the name Buddy Poppy. We've made that trademark a guarantee that all poppies bearing that name and the VFW label are genuine products of the work of disabled and needy veterans. A certificate was issued on May 20, 1924, granting our organization all trademark rights in the name of Buddy under the classification of artificial flowers. In February 1924, we registered the name Buddy Poppy with the U.S. The designation "Buddy Poppy" was adopted at that time. The next year, disabled veterans at the Buddy Poppy factory in Pittsburgh assembled VFW Buddy Poppies. The poppy soon was adopted as the official memorial flower of the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States, as it remains today.ĭuring our 1923 encampment, we decided that VFW "Buddy"® Poppies would be assembled by disabled and needy veterans who would be paid for their work to provide them with financial assistance. Before Memorial Day in 1922, we conducted our first poppy distribution, becoming the first veterans' organization to organize a nationwide distribution.
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