It’s  Buddy Poppy season for the Judd Kendall VFW Post 3873 and Naperville’s PoppyPalooza will be held May 21-26 outside Casey’s Foods and other local supermarkets as well as Naperville train stations, according to organizer Mike Barbour.  Local veterans will be stationed around town with bunches of artificial red poppies to hand out and collection buckets for donations to benefit the unmet needs of veterans and their families.
“This is an important year for distributing Poppies,” said Barbour who heads the Buddy Poppy fundraising project along with his wife, Jan Barbour. “Our veterans need more help than ever. Believe me, you will get a good feeling when you hear the comments of the people who get a Poppy, especially the children.”
“This will be a busy month for our post,” said Post Commander Nina Petru in her commentary featured in the May issue of the Kendall-Gram.
Members of the post will host a blood drive from 7:30AM-1:30PM on Sat., May 11, distribute Buddy Poppies, attend school ceremonies as well as place American flags and decorate graves of veterans laid to rest in Naperville cemeteries.
Memorial Day Observances on May 27
“Every year I am more impressed. Every year is a new memory,” Petru noted, mindful of the various observances that lead up to the Memorial Day Parade as it steps off at 10:30AM Mon., May 27, followed by a patriotic program with placement of a wreath at the Blackhawk/Silver Star Memorials in Central Park.
At 12:15PM, solemn tributes to all fallen heroes who made the supreme sacrifice as well as patriotic music performed by the Naperville Municipal Band will be presented with Colors and a wreath laying during the 30-minute program in Central Park. The Young Naperville Singers also will add their voices to the observance.
For more than 80 years, Memorial Day observances have been organized by local veterans and citizens in conjunction with the American Legion Post 43 and the Judd Kendall VFW Post 3873.
Do you know the history of the Buddy Poppy?
The red Buddy Poppy represents the color of Flanders fields as observed by American service members in World War I, a reminder that veterans will not forget their sacrifices to protect America’s freedoms. The Poppy movement was inspired by a well-known poem written in 1915 by Canadian Army Col. John McCrae titled “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. Â 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. Â 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.
Poppies first were distributed by the Franco-American Children’s League to benefit children in the devastated areas of France and Belgium following WWI.
2013 Naperville goal is $40,000
Today, men and women in veterans hospitals assemble the Poppies, tie them in bunches of 10 and pack them in boxes of 500, 1,000 or 2,000 for shipment to the Posts and Ladies Auxiliaries. Barbour said he has bunches ready for pick-up from volunteers who will distributing the symbolic flowers in Naperville from May 21-26.
Disabled veterans are paid minimally for their work by veterans organizations. In most cases, this extra money provides additional income for the veteran to pay for the little luxuries while receiving treatment in the V.A. hospital. Assembling the poppies also provides therapy in that the production exercises fingers and hands crippled by wounds, disease and the effects of old age.
Another reason Buddy Poppies are important is because all proceeds from distribution are used for unmet needs of veterans, their dependents and the orphans of veterans.  Donations collected in Naperville stay locally for needs of local veterans and the goal for 2013 is the raise $40,000, Barbour notes.
“Anyone with a sincere desire to help veterans can help distribute poppies,” said Barbour.
Then citizens are encouraged to “Wear it proudly” during observances throughout the week and on Memorial Day as a way to pay tribute to all fallen heroes who gave the ultimate sacrifice with their service to the United States military. Â Many individuals also have been known to fasten the Buddy Poppy to the dashboard of their vehicles as a reminder throughout the year of the sacrifices and service of military.
To participate, contact Barbour at mbarbour@wowway.com. For all the activities at Judd Kendall VFW Post 3873 this month, visit www.napervfw3873.org.
Editor’s Note/Related Poppy News: The American Legion Post 43 will host its annual Poppy Day on Thursday, May 16. As in the past, all of the proceeds will go to support disabled veterans. But this year Post 43 has selected a specific program of the American Legion called Operation Comfort Warriors that will receive 100 percent of all donations generated through the sale of Poppies that day.
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