Department of Arizona — Veterans of Foreign Wars

VFW "Buddy"® Poppy Program

Honoring the Dead by Helping the Living

A Living Symbol

The small red Buddy Poppy is the official memorial flower of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, a tribute to the blood shed by American service members in defense of freedom. The idea traces back to Colonel John McCrae's poem "In Flanders Fields," and to early poppy distributions organized after World War I to support war-torn communities overseas.

The VFW conducted the first nationwide poppy distribution ahead of Memorial Day in 1922, becoming the first veterans' organization in the country to do so. The poppy was adopted that same year as the VFW's official memorial flower, a designation it still carries today.

Made by Veterans, for Veterans

In 1923, the VFW began paying disabled and needy veterans to assemble the poppies by hand, turning the flower into a source of income as well as remembrance. A poppy factory soon opened in Pittsburgh, and the name "Buddy Poppy" grew naturally out of the poppy makers' memories of comrades who never came home. The VFW registered the name with the U.S. Patent Office in 1924, and to this day no other organization may legally use it.

Buddy Poppies are still assembled by disabled, needy, and aging veterans in VA hospitals and domiciliaries across the country. Every poppy distributed by a Post or Auxiliary bears the VFW label as a guarantee of that work.

Where the Funds Go

Buddy Poppy proceeds represent no profit for any VFW unit. Donations support compensation for the veterans who assemble the poppies, fund state and national veterans' rehabilitation and service programs, and help sustain the VFW National Home, which provides housing and support for military and veteran families in need.

Posts and Auxiliaries across Arizona are encouraged to hold Buddy Poppy distributions around Memorial Day and Veterans Day, and to treat the program as a year-round opportunity to fundraise for veterans while honoring those who didn't come home.