A Flower to Remember

You might have seen them on your way into the grocery store to stock up for the weekend BBQ. Twice a year, members of the Edmonds Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Post 8870 set up folding tables to pass out paper poppies but few know what the little red flowers represent.

For Pearl Harbor survivor Ervin Schmidt, the poppies are a way to remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice for their country. “Especially all my shipmates that didn’t come home,” he said.

The poppies also represent those who have passed since their time in service. VFW Junior Vice Commander said the poppies “represent all our fallen veterans.”

Apgar will be part of the Memorial Day ceremony at the Edmonds cemetery. Members of Edmonds VFW and the American Legion posts will be raising the American flag to begin the ceremony that starts at 11:00 a.m. Apgar will be speaking during the service about that POW/MIA table ritual. In the program, the military casualties of Edmonds are remembered.

From WWI to Vietnam, 84 members of the Edmonds School District have fallen in combat. Since 2001, there have been 131 military casualties from Washington State, 16 from Snohomish County.

According to legend, poppies were the only thing that would grow in the war torn battlefields of WWI. Flanders Fields is a medieval county that is spread across part of France and Belgium and the inspiration of the poem by Colonel John McCrae.  

For more than 75 years, the VFW has been passing out the Buddy Poppy across the nation. Assembled by disabled and aging veterans in VA hospitals and assisted living homes throughout the nation, the VFW buys the poppies and hands them out in front of local businesses the Friday and Saturday before Veterans Day and Memorial Day. Accepting donations, the Buddy Poppy is the biggest fund raisers of the year for Post 8870.

Post Commander Jim Traner stresses that it is a no-strings attached exchange. In the post newsletter, Traner said Memorial Day is where we remember not only our military who were killed in action, but our loved ones who have passed on as well.

Taking the time to remember is the most important part for the veterans. Schmidt is active in several veterans’ organizations. Aside from the VFW, he is a member in a Pearl Harbor survivors group, submarine veterans of WWII and submarine vet group. Schimdt is the last remaining survivor of all the men he has served with.

All of the VFW members handing out poppies are volunteers. The only ones who make any money off the poppies are the vets who make them. And that is just enough to buy make their stay in the hospitals or domiciliaries a little better or to be able to buy gifts for their families. The money raised from the donations collected goes to veterans in need and their families.

Donating to the poppy program is a family tradition for James Taylor. Named after an uncle that served in the Army Air Corps during WWII and is buried in North Africa, Taylor has been getting a poppy with his father since he was grade school. The Buddy Poppy program is one charity that Taylor donates to every year.

In the Army from 1977-84, Taylor continues the tradition for all the people he served with. “The guys that came home and the ones that didn’t.”

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(PETER SESSUM  is a student in the University of Washington Department of Communication News Laboratory.)