Why do we wear the Buddy Poppy™?
Let us tell you a story...
It began in Flanders Field, a World War I battlefield on which the better part of a generation of young men died or were mutilated and psychologically scarred for life. It began with a poem penned by a medical doctor, a witness to the carnage; a poem that he discarded because he felt his words were inadequate to convey the tragedy he saw. It continued with a subordinate who rescued that poem from the blood soaked ground where it lay, and sent it to his family. A poem that was translated and published around the world. Churned by millions of artillery rounds and fertilized with the blood of a generation, Flanders Field cultivated a super bloom of poppies. This poem inspired a tradition that continues to this day...
In Flanders Fields
In Flanders Fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
that mark our place; and in the sky
The larks still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved, were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders Fields
Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders Fields
-- Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae
LTC McCrae's Story
A Montréal physician, McCrae was a surgeon with the Field Artillery, in the Canadian Expeditionary Force. Ypres was the Force’s first major engagement of the war. “The general impression in my mind is of a nightmare,” McCrae wrote to his mother, “…And behind it all was the constant background of the sights of the dead, the wounded, the maimed, and a terrible anxiety lest the line should give way.” Indeed, the war murdered, maimed, and traumatized an entire generation of young men. One of them, one of McCrae’s friends, Alexis Helmer was killed and, in the absence of the Force’s chaplain, McCrae presided over his funeral. Afterwards, McCrae expressed his grief in the simple verses of a poem, “In Flanders Fields.”
By 1917 “In Flanders Fields” was known throughout the English-speaking world. It was used to further the war effort, to raise money for the troops, and to help recruit American soldiers as the United States mobilized to enter the war. McCrae’s poem is read by millions around the world each Remembrance Day, also known as Veterans Day in the U.S., inspiring citizens as well as veterans to wear Poppies to honor the fallen.
The VFW Story
The VFW conducted its first poppy distribution in 1922. Beginning in 1923, imitation poppies were assembled by disabled and needy veterans who were paid for their work to provide them with financial assistance. These veterans commented as they worked that the poppies helped them remember their buddies who hadn’t come home. The designation "Buddy Poppy" was adopted In February 1924, was registered with the U.S. Patent Office. 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. No other organization, firm or individual can legally use the name Buddy Poppy. Today, VFW Buddy Poppies are still assembled by disabled and needy veterans in VA Hospitals. In addition to providing compensation to the veterans who assemble the poppies, The VFW Buddy Poppy program provides financial assistance in maintaining state and national veterans' rehabilitation and service programs and partially supports the VFW National Home. Show your support today. Please accept a Buddy Poppy and wear it in remembrance of Americans who have fallen in war.
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We provide direct assistance to all veterans who served honorably as well as active duty personnel, located in Walker and surrounding counties in Texas