North Oakland VFW Post 334 will sell Buddy Poppies May 5, 6 and 7 at many locations in Orion, Oakland and Addison townships.
This the only fund raiser the Veteran’s of Foreign Wars carries out annually and the money raised is used to assist needy and disabled veterans in North Oakland County as well as support the VFW National Home in Eaton Rapids, Michigan where many widows and orphans of men and women who lost their lives in the service of our country now live. The Post also supports a variety of youth activities as well as the Guardian Angel project.
James Trumble, Senior Vice Commander of VFW Post 334, is the chairman of the Post’s 2011 Buddy Poppy sales effort.
‘The goal is to raise $20,000.00 during the three day sales effort,? Trumble explained, ‘Our Post raised more than $14,721.49 last year and our goal is to beat that record this year.?
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 Program actually got its start on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean shortly after World War 1 and was inspired by Colonel John McCrae’s poem, ‘In Flanders Field,? which spoke of poppies growing in an Allied cemetery, ‘between the crosses, row on row.? In May 1922, the VFW conducted the first nationwide distribution of poppies in the United States. Disabled veterans assemble the poppies.
‘Last year Post 334 sold more Buddy Poppies than any other VFW Post in Michigan,? Post Commander Ernie Backer said. ‘We hope to beat that record this year.?
North Oakland VFW Post 334 meets the second Thursday of every month at the American Legion/VFW Hall on East Drahner Road in Oxford at 7:30 pm. The Post started in 1984 and members reside in Lake Orion, Oxford, Clarkston, Bloomfield Hills, Leonard, Metamora and Rochester Hills.
For more information about joining the Post veterans are encouraged to call Commander Ernie Baker at 248-391-6933.