The Veterans Resource Team will distribute 1,000 Buddy Poppies for faculty, staff and students to wear the week preceding Memorial Day, May 23-27. Last year, the group gave out 800 poppies with more than 500 additional requests.
The Buddy Poppy movement was started by the Veterans of Foreign Wars organization after World War I. It was inspired by the poem In Flanders Fields by John McCrae, which describes the red poppies growing on a battle site where many soldiers are buried. Later, some poppies became a source of income opportunities for VFW offices. UT’s poppies are made by Tennessee veterans. Artificial poppies are often worn on Memorial Day and Veterans Day in the United States and on Remembrance Day in the United Kingdom.
Buddy Poppies at UT will be distributed on a card displaying In Flanders Fields.” The Veterans Resource Team encourages campus faculty, staff and students to keep the cards visible throughout the year to show support for UT veterans.
During the 2015-2016 academic year, more than 800 UT students received military benefits.
To request a poppy for yourself or for your office, e-mail Mary Mahoney or call her at 974-7791. If your office plans to request multiple poppies, please combine individual orders into one group order. The poppies will be delivered the week before the event.
For more information about the Veterans Resource Team, e-mail VA Coordinator Jayetta Rogers.