VFW member Brian Walker assembles poppies for the 2021 sale. The poppies are made by disabled or in-need veterans working for VFW National, then sold to local VFW posts, who in turn sell them for a donation, using those funds to support local veterans.
The VFW’s Buddy Poppies are much more than a fashion statement: they are a symbol of the sacrifices made by so many men and women of the Armed Forces who have served this country; they are a reminder of the observance of Memorial Day; they are a means of financial security for many veterans; and they are a way for VFW posts across the country to take care of veterans in need.
This display of the Vietnam Memorial Wall, adorned with VFW Buddy Poppies, is on display at the Monett Tom Wolfe Memorial VFW Post 4207. It was made by a past Monett VFW Auxiliary member Danetta Wakefield in May 2000.
The VFW’s motto is “To honor the dead by helping the living,” and, in short, Buddy Poppies are one way to do just that.

Concerned that World War I veterans who had made the ultimate sacrifice were being forgotten too soon, Madame E. Guerin, of France, took inspiration from Colonel John McCrae's poem, "In Flanders Fields,” which spoke of poppies growing in an Allied graveyard "between the crosses, row on row," and began a push to have veterans’ organization sport red silk poppies in memory of World War I veterans.
The Buddy Poppy idea caught on in the U.S. in May 1922, when the VFW conducted the first nationwide distribution of poppies in the United States.
Later that year, at its National Encampment in Seattle in August 1922, the VFW adopted the poppy as its official memorial flower.
However, Guerin’s American and French Children's League, which supplied the poppies, had been dissolved shortly before the VFW's 1922 poppy sale, making the silk flowers hard to come by for the upcoming 1923 sale.
From adversity blooms inspiration, and the VFW formed an elegant solution that would simultaneously keep the flowers circulating as a reminder of the sacrifices so many veterans made in the name of freedom, and help living veterans who were in need, a tradition that continues to this day.
During its1923 encampment, the VFW decided that its Buddy Poppies would be assembled by disabled veterans and veterans in need, who would, in turn, be paid for their work to provide them with financial assistance. The next year, disabled veterans at the Buddy Poppy factory in Pittsburgh, Penn., assembled VFW Buddy Poppies. The designation "Buddy Poppy" was adopted at that time.
In February 1924, the VFW registered the name Buddy Poppy with the U.S. Patent Office that allows it to guarantee that all poppies bearing that name and the VFW label are genuine products of the work of disabled and needy veterans. No other organization, firm, or individual can legally use the name Buddy Poppy.
Today, Buddy Poppies are still assembled by disabled and needy veterans in VA Hospitals.
VFW posts throughout the country order Buddy Poppies from the national VFW organization, then distribute them throughout their individual communities leading up to Memorial Day in exchange for donations. Those donations are used by individual VFW posts to take care of local veterans in need.
With that business model, the VFW is able to raise money for various veteran programs on a local and a national level.
The 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, partially supports the VFW National Home for Children and allows the local posts to support veterans at the local level.
Over the years, Tom Wolfe VFW Post 4207 has continued the tradition, selecting “Poppy Girls” to represent the post and its poppy sales for many years.
VFW Post No. 4207 Auxiliary Buddy Poppy Coordinator Linda Adams and VFW Post No. 4207 Quartermaster Randall Adams said the local post celebrated Memorial Day and the Buddy Poppy distribution by selecting a Poppy Girl each May for decades. That tradition ended several years ago, when the local auxiliary disbanded.
However, the auxiliary has been reformed and the post and auxiliary are hoping to bring the tradition back.
But that’s not all that’s changed. Linda said the post traditionally collected donations and distributed poppies at the intersection of U.S. 60 and Highway 37 until a few years ago, when safety concerns changed the location.
Since then, with the exception of last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the post has distributed at Walmart.
As long as COVID-19 restrictions allow, Randall said the plan this year is to distribute poppies at Walmart, Price Cutter and Lowe's.
Randall said the post hopes to raise about $1,000 each year through poppy donations to support local veterans.
While the use of poppy funds are strictly regulated, Randall said the Monett Post typically has a single use for the money – to support local veterans in need.
“We use it to help the people who need it,” Randall said. “The vets come to us and tell us what they need, and we try to help them out however we can.”
He added that veterans who are in need do not need to be members of the VFW to seek help. He said the organization is there to help any veteran in need, any way it can.
The VFW’s motto is “To honor the dead by helping the living,” and, in short, Buddy Poppies are one way to do just that.
Concerned that World War I veterans who had made the ultimate sacrifice were being forgotten too soon, Madame E. Guerin, of France, took inspiration from Colonel John McCrae's poem, "In Flanders Fields,” which spoke of poppies growing in an Allied graveyard "between the crosses, row on row," and began a push to have veterans’ organization sport red silk poppies in memory of World War I veterans.
The Buddy Poppy idea caught on in the U.S. in May 1922, when the VFW conducted the first nationwide distribution of poppies in the United States.
Later that year, at its National Encampment in Seattle in August 1922, the VFW adopted the poppy as its official memorial flower.
However, Guerin’s American and French Children's League, which supplied the poppies, had been dissolved shortly before the VFW's 1922 poppy sale, making the silk flowers hard to come by for the upcoming 1923 sale.
From adversity blooms inspiration, and the VFW formed an elegant solution that would simultaneously keep the flowers circulating as a reminder of the sacrifices so many veterans made in the name of freedom, and help living veterans who were in need, a tradition that continues to this day.
During its1923 encampment, the VFW decided that its Buddy Poppies would be assembled by disabled veterans and veterans in need, who would, in turn, be paid for their work to provide them with financial assistance. The next year, disabled veterans at the Buddy Poppy factory in Pittsburgh, Penn., assembled VFW Buddy Poppies. The designation "Buddy Poppy" was adopted at that time.
In February 1924, the VFW registered the name Buddy Poppy with the U.S. Patent Office that allows it to guarantee that all poppies bearing that name and the VFW label are genuine products of the work of disabled and needy veterans. No other organization, firm, or individual can legally use the name Buddy Poppy.
Today, Buddy Poppies are still assembled by disabled and needy veterans in VA Hospitals.
VFW posts throughout the country order Buddy Poppies from the national VFW organization, then distribute them throughout their individual communities leading up to Memorial Day in exchange for donations. Those donations are used by individual VFW posts to take care of local veterans in need.
With that business model, the VFW is able to raise money for various veteran programs on a local and a national level.
The 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, partially supports the VFW National Home for Children and allows the local posts to support veterans at the local level.
Over the years, Tom Wolfe VFW Post 4207 has continued the tradition, selecting “Poppy Girls” to represent the post and its poppy sales for many years.
VFW Post No. 4207 Auxiliary Buddy Poppy Coordinator Linda Adams and VFW Post No. 4207 Quartermaster Randall Adams said the local post celebrated Memorial Day and the Buddy Poppy distribution by selecting a Poppy Girl each May for decades. That tradition ended several years ago, when the local auxiliary disbanded.
However, the auxiliary has been reformed and the post and auxiliary are hoping to bring the tradition back.
But that’s not all that’s changed. Linda said the post traditionally collected donations and distributed poppies at the intersection of U.S. 60 and Highway 37 until a few years ago, when safety concerns changed the location.
Since then, with the exception of last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the post has distributed at Walmart.
As long as COVID-19 restrictions allow, Randall said the plan this year is to distribute poppies at Walmart, Price Cutter and Lowe's.
Randall said the post hopes to raise about $1,000 each year through poppy donations to support local veterans.
While the use of poppy funds are strictly regulated, Randall said the Monett Post typically has a single use for the money – to support local veterans in need.
“We use it to help the people who need it,” Randall said. “The vets come to us and tell us what they need, and we try to help them out however we can.”
He added that veterans who are in need do not need to be members of the VFW to seek help. He said the organization is there to help any veteran in need, any way it can.
