The Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States was the first veteran organization to promote a nationally organized campaign for the annual distribution of poppies assembled by disabled and needy veterans.

The poppy movement was inspired by the poem "In Flanders Fields" written by Colonel John McCrae of the Canadian forces before the United States entered World War I. Selling replicas of the original Flanders' poppy originated in some of the allied countries immediately after the Armistice.

"In Flanders Fields" by 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.

No definite organized sale of poppies on a nationwide scale was conducted in America until 1921, when the Franco-American Children's League sold poppies ostensibly for the benefit of children in the devastated areas of France and Belgium.

Madam Guerin, who was recognized as "the poppy lady from France", sought and received the cooperation of the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the U.S. early in 1922, after the Franco-American Children's League was dissolved. The VFW conducted a poppy sale prior to Memorial Day, 1922, using only poppies that were made in France. In the 1923 poppy sale, due to the difficulty and delay in getting poppies from France, the VFW made use of a surplus of French poppies that were on hand and the balance was provided by a firm in New York City manufacturing artificial flowers.

It was during the 1923 campaign that the VFW evolved the idea, which resulted in the VFW Buddy Poppy - fashioned by disabled and needy veterans who were paid for their work as a practical means of providing assistance for these Comrades. This plan was formally presented for adoption to the 1923 encampment of the VFW at Norfolk, Virginia. Immediately thereafter the VFW Buddy Poppy factory was established in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where disabled veterans assembled all VFW Buddy Poppies for the 1924 sale.

General Frank T. Hines, Director of the U.S. Veterans' Bureau, endorsed the plan and pledged the cooperation of his department. The U.S. Veterans’ Bureau regional manager in Pittsburgh sent all men employed in the assembling of the Buddy Poppies for the 1924 sale to the VFW poppy workshop. The designation "Buddy Poppy" which originated with the men themselves was adopted at that time.

IN FEBRUARY, 1924, THE VFW REGISTERED THE NAME "BUDDY POPPY" WITH THE UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE, AND A CERTIFICATE WAS ISSUED ON MAY 20, 1924, GRANTING THE VFW ALL TRADEMARK RIGHTS IN THE NAME OF "BUDDY" UNDER THE CLASSIFICATION OF ARTIFICIAL FLOWERS. The VFW has made that trademark a 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 make legal use of the name "BUDDY" POPPY.

Following the 1924 sale, a number of the larger Departments (States) of the VFW believed it would stimulate local sales if the poppies they used were assembled by disabled veterans in hospitals within their own jurisdiction. The 1924 encampment of the VFW at Atlantic City granted this privilege, under the provision that all poppies would be produced according to specifications set forth by the National Buddy Poppy Committee, and that all poppies would be assembled by disabled veterans in government hospitals and by needy veterans in workshops supervised by the VFW.

The National Buddy Poppy Committee has maintained a close check on the making of Buddy Poppies and has supplied VFW Buddy Poppy labels, which must be used on all poppies sold by any unit of this organization. The VFW has steadfastly adhered to the policy of veteran assembled poppies.

The VFW organized the first nationwide distribution of poppies ever conducted by a veteran’s organization in May 1922. Immediately thereafter, the poppy was adopted by the National Encampment held in Seattle, Washington during August of that year as the official memorial flower of the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States.

In September 1920, the National Convention of the American Legion held at Cleveland, passed a resolution adopting the poppy as the official flower of that organization. However, at the third National Convention of the American Legion held in Kansas City in October 1921, the American Legion repudiated the poppy and adopted the daisy as its official flower.

In October, 1922, following the first nationwide sale of poppies conducted by the VFW during the month of May of that year, the fourth National Convention of the American Legion held at New Orleans, Louisiana in October, adopted the following resolution which is taken from a printed summary of the proceedings: "Resolved, that the poppy is hereby declared to be the official American Legion flower, instead of the daisy, which was adopted by the 1921 convention of the American Legion".

This indicates the daisy was adopted by the American Legion in 1921 and following the successful poppy sale conducted by the VFW in May, 1922 the American Legion realized the financial possibilities of the poppy movement. In the spring of 1923, following the New Orleans encampment and one year after the first poppy sale of the VFW on a nationwide scale, the American Legion conducted its first poppy sale using poppies supplied by a French manufacturer as shown in the report of the National Adjutant for the year ending October 15, 1923.

The records are clear, however, on the subject of the first nationwide distribution of poppies by the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the U.S. in May 1922.

From the very beginning, the Buddy Poppy project of the VFW has received the endorsement and cooperation of the Director of the Veterans Administration, and the support of administrators and medical officers of government hospitals. All Presidents since Warren G. Harding (1921-1923) have conveyed to the nation at large, endorsement and recognition of this VFW effort.

Today, disabled, needy, and aging veterans in VA Hospitals and domiciliaries assemble VFW Buddy Poppies across the country. The majority of proceeds derived from each sale conducted by VFW Posts and their Ladies Auxiliaries are retained locally to provide for veteran services and welfare. The minimal assessment (cost of Buddy Poppies) to VFW units provides compensation to the veterans who assembled the poppies, provides financial assistance in maintaining state and national veterans' rehabilitation and service programs, and partially supports the VFW National Home for orphans and widows of our nation's veterans.

Buddy Poppy precedes represent no profit to any VFW unit. All the money contributed by the public for Buddy Poppies is used in the cause of veteran’s welfare, or for the well being of their needy dependents and the orphans of veterans. From its inception, the Buddy Poppy Program has helped the VFW live up to its motto, "to honor the dead by helping the living." The Buddy Poppy - small red flower symbolic of the blood shed in World War I by millions of Allied soldiers in defense of freedom - was originally sold to provide relief for the people of war-devastated France. Later, its sale directly benefited thousands of disabled and down-and-out American veterans

From the start of the VFW's poppy program, the U.S. Veterans Bureau, the Administrator of Veterans Affairs, and other federal agencies have supported the Buddy Poppy. And beginning with Warren G. Harding, U.S. presidents have also been staunch supporters of the program. Each year, a Poppy Girl or Poppy Boy selected from the National Home's residents starts the annual campaign by presenting the first poppy to the president of the United States.

Shena B.  Buddy Poppy Girl for 2002-2003

Today, there are strict rules governing how profits from Buddy Poppy sales are to be used at different levels within the organization. The National organization assesses a tax of three and one-half cents on every poppy sold to a state department. This tax is added to the cost of manufacturing and distributing the poppy. Tax revenues are allotted as follows: one and one-half cents to the service fund of the department that purchased the poppy, one cent to the VFW National Home, and one cent to the Veterans Service fund of the National Headquarters.

At the department level, an additional tax is normally added to the cost of the poppies it sells to the posts in its jurisdiction. This profit is used to fund department service work or other programs for the relief or well being of VFW members.

Posts receive their profits from direct sale of the poppies to the public. National by-laws require that the profits from these sales be placed in the post's Relief Fund to be used only for the following purposes:

For the aid, assistance, relief, and comfort of needy or disabled veterans or members of the Armed Forces and their dependents, and the widows and orphans of deceased veterans.

For the maintenance and expansion of the VFW National Home and other facilities devoted exclusively to the benefit and welfare of the dependents, widows, and orphans of disabled, needy, or deceased veterans or members of the Armed Forces.

For necessary expenses in providing entertainment, care, and assistance to hospitalized veterans or members of the Armed Forces.

For veterans' rehabilitation, welfare, and service work.

To perpetuate the memory of deceased veterans and members of the Armed Forces, and to comfort survivors.

With help from the VFW, the "Little Red Flower" continues to benefit the needy just as the Poppy Lady believed it was capable of so many years ago. In 1989, for example, 17,894,684 poppies were sold for an average donation of 55 cents. To date, the VFW has sold over three quarters of a billion Buddy Poppies. As long as Americans continue to spill their blood in defense of freedom, sales of these blood-red poppies will undoubtedly continue strong.