DIXON, CA (MPG) - The symbolic red poppies will sprout over Memorial Day Weekend to commemorate the sacrifice of many men and women who have given their lives fighting for our country and your purchase of one from the Veterans of Foreign Wars in front of Safeway this Saturday, Sunday, and Monday will help support the two veteran homes in Dixon.

“We only sell them twice a year: Memorial Day and Veteran’s Day,” said Dixon’s VFW Commander Cecil Dennings. “We’ll be out there from 8 am to 5 pm and we help support two transitional homes, one short term and one long term, here in Dixon. One was built by Habitat for Humanity.”

The VFW first started the nationwide “Buddy”® Poppy distribution before Memorial Day in 1922 but it soon became the official memorial flower for the United States and is a registered trademark.

That trademark guarantees 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 legally use the name Buddy Poppy and people who make the small purchase are encouraged to wear the poppy to show support for those who have lost their lives in defending America’s freedoms. 

These special little red flowers are still assembled by disabled and needy veterans in VA Hospitals. 

The VFW Buddy Poppy program provides compensation to the veterans who assemble the poppies, provides financial assistance in maintaining state and national veterans’ rehabilitation and service programs, and partially supports the VFW National Home for Children. 

The organization has served for more than 100 years and has donated millions of volunteer hours; been a strong supporter of our country’s youth; been a major supporter of patriotic and educational efforts; and been an unwavering advocate to the military, its veterans and their families, according to the VFW website.

The VFW Post 8151 in Dixon holds meetings at 6:30 pm on the 3rd Wednesday of every month at the Olde Vets Hall in downtown Dixon at 231 North 1st Street, across from the public library. For more information, call Dennings at (209) 395-8019 or email [email protected].