Vets to hold Memorial Day fundraiser

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“Support the Troops” is a trendy slogan heard from politicians and read on bumper stickers.

For some, this sentiment is more than words; it’s an opportunity to serve those who’ve served their country.

“Would you like a buddy poppy?” a veteran asks a little girl in front of Bashas’ grocery story in Maricopa Sunday.

The former soldier is Jim Terry, a Vietnam Veteran and member of Maricopa’s Veterans of Foreign Wars organization. He and other vets are standing in front of Basha’s and Fry’s shopping centers Sunday and Monday, handing out Buddy Poppies to raise funds for disabled and needy vets.

He looks to the mother for approval and, with her approving nod, hands the flower known as a Buddy Poppy to the child.

“These flowers are made by disabled vets,” Terry said.

The handmade flowers designed to look like a poppy are symbolic of war for service members.

The “Buddy” Poppy was first used to evoke the memories and emotions of war in a poem written by Lt. Col. John McCrae, M.D. of Canada. The poem, “In Flanders Fields,” describes blowing red fields among the battleground of the fallen.

The Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States, with its auxiliaries, includes 2.4 million members in approximately 9,000 posts worldwide.

Annually, VFW members and their auxiliaries contribute more than 13 million hours of volunteerism in the community, including participation in Make A Difference Day and National Volunteer Week.

For more information about Maricopa’s VFW, e-mail [email protected].

If you go:
What:
VFW Buddy Poppy drive
Where: Bashas’ or Fry’s
When: Monday 9 a.m. – 1 p.m.

In Flanders Fields
By Lt. Col. John McCrae

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.