Memorial Day is Monday. Many people seem to think it is a day for BBQ’s, going camping, and playing Frisbee. Some see it as a day to goof off or catch up on yard work. There are those, though, who still remember what Memorial Day is – my mother for example.

For as long as I can remember, MD meant a day in the car with my mother. We drove to cemeteries all over the state, searched graveyards for headstones that seemed to move year after year, and placed plastic flowers diligently, lovingly in the ground. It was a time I enjoyed.

Some of the people we visited had been dead longer than I had been alive. Then, people I knew died, and suddenly what we were really doing hit me. The reason we spent this day traversing Iowa was because we didn’t want to forget.

Memorial Day was birthed out of war, and a need to remember fallen veterans. My father’s parents were both members of the Air Force in WWII, and every year, without fail, the American flag flew over their graves, long before we arrived to pay our respects. I remember wanting to thank them for guaranteeing my freedom.

The artificial poppy worn by many is also a tradition in our household. Even without understanding why, I knew I was doing a good thing by proudly displaying my flower, and later I simply bought them.

These unique products are named “Buddy Poppies” in honor of those whose buddies did not return from war. The poppy is distributed by the Veterans of Foreign Wars who use unemployed and disabled veterans to produce them. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs reports that the VFW distributes around 14 million each year.

Profits from the sale of Buddy Poppies have raised millions of dollars to support veteran’s welfare and their dependants, according to the VFW’s official site. Purchasing a Poppy is one way that you can thank veterans, even if you don’t have anyone to visit on Memorial Day.