| District Chairman: | Alexis Henshaw |
| alexishenshaw@hotmail.com | |
| Auxiliary Chairman: | Marti Ingraham |
| Marti@rawhideandrust.com |
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The tin tab buddy poppy will be available October 1st. We have updated the Buddy Poppy order form with the new prices and the ability to order traditional or the tin tab poppies. Please disseminate this information to your Posts. |
THE BUDDY POPPY. The Buddy Poppy, unlike the California State Flower, is red. Since 1915, during WWI, the red poppy has grown wild on the battlefields of France, Belgium and the Turkish battlefields on the peninsula of Gallipoli. In November of 1919, Miss Monia Belle Michael, an American Women, on duty at the YMCA Overseas War Secretaries’ Headquarters in New York, read Canadian Army, Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae’s poem entitled "In Flanders Field”, also known as "We Shall Not Sleep”. On that day she vowed always to wear a red poppy of Flanders Field as a sign of remembrance. Also on that day Monia wrote a poem entitled, "We Shall Keep the Faith”. Since 1920 the red Memorial Poppy has been known as the United States’ National Emblem of Remembrance.
From 1919 until 1922, the red poppy was used by many countries as a fundraiser for veterans. In 1923 The Veterans of Foreign Wars agreed American Veterans of the Great War could also benefit from making and selling the red Memorial Poppy. In February 1924, the name "BUDDY POPPY” was registered as a U.S. Patent. In May 1924, a certificate was issued to grant trademark rights to the Veterans of Foreign Wars for the manufacture of genuine "Buddy Poppies”. Since that time, members of the Veterans of Foreign Wars have distributed Buddy Poppies, usually on Armistice Day, now known as Memorial Day in May and on Veterans Day in November.
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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 and 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. |
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WE SHALL KEEP THE FAITH
Oh! You who sleep in Flanders Fields,
Sleep sweet - to rise anew!
We caught the torch you threw
and holding high, we keep the Faith
with All who died.
We cherish, too, the poppy red
that grows on fields where valor led;
it seems to signal to the skies
that blood of heroes never dies,
but lends a luster to the red
of the flower that blooms above the dead
In Flanders Fields.
And now the Torch and Poppy Red
we wear in honor of our dead.
Fear not that ye have died for naught;
we’ll teach the lesson that ye wrought
In Flanders Fields.
In Flanders Fields we fought |
ORDERING BUDDY POPPIES
• Buddy Poppy orders for both the Comrades and the Auxiliary are made through the Department of California. There is a new order form on the Department page to download for purchasing poppies. WWW.VFWCA.org.
• Please allow 4 to 6 weeks for delivery. Be advised that Buddy Poppy facilities are closed beginning mid-November through December. Be sure that you allow sufficient lead time for your order.
• Other Poppy supplies such as cans and boards need to be ordered directly from the National Headquarters Emblem and Supply Department.
• All orders purchased, through June 2024, shall be credited to the 2023-2024 operational year for All-American and All-State purposes.
• Buddy Poppies are packaged in increments of 500, 1000, or 2000. Orders for amounts other than the packaged amount will be shipped in the next higher increment and invoiced accordingly.
• All orders for Buddy Poppies must have a street address for delivery. All orders are shipped via UPS, and UPS will not deliver to a Post Office Box.
• Proceeds from the purchase of Buddy Poppies go to the Service Fund, a fund that supports our Veterans and active-duty military members.
DISPLAYS
Posts/Auxiliary participating in the Buddy Poppy Display Contest at the Department of California Convention must notify the Department Buddy Poppy Chair by April 1, 2024. Adequate space for entries must be requested through the Convention Committee Chair. Approximate size and weight of the Buddy Poppy Display will be helpful.
HOW TO REPORT
Report Buddy Poppy activities on www.VFWCA.org
Judging for District 1 will be on XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX TBD District meeting.
Just a thought—if you are wondering what you would do with the wreath after making it for the District. It could be displayed at your Post home to make a place of honor for the names of the Veterans who are now being identified that were missing. The Action Corp publishes a list. This could be printed and displayed with the wreath as a reminder of these Comrades who gave their lives for our Freedom.
Don't forget to report for Buddy Poppy and Veteran and Family Support!
