Poppies Distributed

Members of the Ladies Auxiliary to Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Post 6414 will be distributing Buddy Poppies Saturday, May 9 from 9 to 11 a.m. at various locations throughout Riverside.  The Poppies are given to people in remembrance of veterans who gave their life for this Nation, and usually the recipients will respond by given a donation to the VFW.  The proceeds from Poppy distributions are used to benefit disabled and needy veterans and their families.
In 1923, VFW became the first veteran’s organization to promote a nationally organized campaign for the annual distribution of Poppies which are assembled by disabled or hospitalized veterans. More than 14 million Poppies are assembled today, and VFW and Auxiliary members raise more than $15 million annually from the distributions.   The poppies were inspired by the poem “In Flanders Field,” written by Colonel John McCrae of Canada, which describes flowing fields of red flowers that grow in Flanders Field, the graveyard in France where thousands of World War I U.S. servicemen are buried.    Eventually, the Buddy Poppy became known throughout the world as a memorial flower and a reminder of the lives lost in wartime.