<p style="text-align: left;">VFW Post 7800 in Patrick Springs thanks everyone who accepted Buddy Poppies and special thanks to those who contributed to the fund at WalMart in Stuart Saturday, May 28. It is always gratifying to meet with the public and share the meaning of the VFW Buddy Poppy. Thanks to WalMart for their support. They have a long history off supporting the Veterans of Foreign Wars. Any veterans in the area not already involved with the VFW or American Legion can get information on participating by calling Leroy Jones at (276) 930-4571. Join us and enjoy the fellowship and giving back to our fellow veterans and to the community. Anyone knowing a veteran who needs assistance of any kind is asked to please notify Leroy Jones. History of the Buddy Poppies During the early days of the second Battle of Ypres a young Canadian artillery officer, Lieutenant Alexis Helmer, was killed on May 2, 1915 in the gun positions near Ypres. An exploding German artillery shell landed near him. He was serving in the same Canadian artillery unit as a friend of his, the Canadian military doctor and artillery commander Major John McCrae. As the brigade doctor, John McCrae was asked to conduct the burial service for Alexis because the chaplain had been called away somewhere else on duty that evening. It is believed that later that evening, after the burial, John began the draft for his now famous poem “In Flanders Fields”. In Flander’s Field by John McCrae <em>In Flanders Fields the poppies blow,</em> <em>Between the crosses, row on row,</em> <em>That mark our place; and in the sky,</em> <em>The larks, still bravely singing, fly,</em> <em>Scarce heard amid the guns below.</em> <em>We are the dead.</em> <em>Short days ago,</em> <em>We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,</em> <em>Loved and were loved and now we lie,</em> <em>In Flanders Fields.</em> <em>Take up our quarrel with the foe</em> <em>To you, from failing hands, we throw,</em> <em>The torch, be yours to hold it high.</em> <em>If ye break faith with us, who die,</em> <em>We shall not sleep, though poppies grow,</em> <em>In Flanders Fields.</em> The VFW conducted its first poppy distribution before Memorial Day in 1922, becoming the first veterans’ organization to organize a nationwide distribution. The poppy soon was adopted as the official memorial flower of the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States. During the 1923 encampment the VFW 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, Pa., assembled VFW Buddy Poppies. The designation “Buddy Poppy” was adopted at that time. Today, VFW Buddy Poppies are still 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. <a href="http://www.mountainmedianews.com/enterprise/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/VFW-Poppy-Drive-01-1.jpg" rel="attachment wp-att-3026"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-3026" src="http://www.mountainmedianews.com/enterprise/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/VFW-Poppy-Drive-01-1-300x193.jpg" alt="VFW Poppy Drive 01" width="300" height="193" /></a>Leroy Jones</p>
