Why do vets sell poppies

Meeting the continuing needs of our veterans should be the concern of every American who values his or her freedom. Food insecurity is a major issue in our country, and, sadly, members of our armed forces are not immune to the problem. They may lack access to enough nutritious food to keep their families active and healthy. You can use your poppy funds to help purchase essentials like food, gas, baby items like diapers, wipes, and formula, school supplies for both children and parents, and for medicine.

Military families sacrifice so much for us so we can have the freedoms we do. Learn more. John McCrae. He was inspired to write it on May 3, , after presiding over the funeral of friend and fellow soldier Alexis Helmer, who died during the Second Battle of Ypres.

Facebook Twitter Email. How the poppy became the symbol of sacrifice. Show Caption. Hide Caption. This is why poppies are an international symbol of remembrance. Poppies are worn around the world as a symbol to remember those who have died in military service. Even though the landscapes were left devastated, red poppies would spring from the wreckage come spring, like tiny beacons of hope.

According to the History Channel , Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae was particularly moved by the red flowers he saw popping up all over the European battlefields after the human conflicts had quieted. He noticed a cluster of poppies in Flanders Field in Belgium that spring, where he was serving as a brigade surgeon for an Allied artillery unit.

Told from the perspective of the fallen soldiers buried beneath the poppies, it honored the troops who died:. 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. It was read at countless memorial services, used in efforts to recruit soldiers and reprinted in countless publications, including Ladies Home Journal. Michael found her first fabric poppies at a department store, where she bought a handful for herself and her colleagues. On Memorial Day and Veterans Day, millions of red crepe paper poppies handmade by veterans are distributed nationwide in exchange for donations that directly assist disabled and hospitalized veterans.

In the U. The Jewish War Veterans also distribute the remembrance poppy to support veterans' causes, as do other veterans groups. Other countries that remember their war dead have also long adopted the poppy tradition. Flanders is a medieval county spanning northwest France and southern Belgium where the Battles of Ypres were fought along the Western Front during the war.

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