“Buddy”® Poppies for Memorial Day

Red poppies are the symbol of remembrance for Memorial Day, the day of remembrance for those who have died in service of the United States of America. Now it is May and Memorial Day is approaching. That means that Hugh Sinnott, Commander of the Hattal-Taylor Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Post 333 [376 Lyceum Ave., 215-487-2250], and a few other members can be found in the community offering red “Buddy”® Poppies for a donation.

Four years after the end of World War One, before Memorial Day in 1922, the first poppy distribution was organized nationwide. The poppy soon was adopted as the official memorial flower of the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States, as it remains today.

In 1923 it was 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. The next year, disabled veterans at the Buddy Poppy factory in Pittsburgh assembled VFW Buddy Poppies. The designation "Buddy Poppy" was adopted at that time. In 1924 the US Patent Office issued a certificate and “Buddy Poppy” became a registered trademark.

“Buddy”® Poppies are assembled by disabled and needy veterans in VA Hospitals. 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. For additional information go to https://www.vfw.org/commu…/community-initiatives/buddy-poppy. For additional info about Memorial Day, go to http://www.usmemorialday.org/.