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As I have wandered around London this week, I’ve noticed something a bit odd. Not that everyone drives on the wrong side of the road or that when someone ends a sentence in “isn’t it?” they don’t actually want you to answer. It was that 90% of the people I saw had a red paper poppy on their lapel.
Being the naturally curious yet antisocial human that I am, I chose to ask Google, rather than one of the literally hundreds of flower-sporters I saw, what was up with this particular phenomenon. Where I wound up was at the website for The Royal British Legion, a charitable organization that “is asking the nation to Rethink Remembrance by recognising the sacrifices made by the Armed Forces community, past and present.”
So what does this paper flower have to do with it? Well, it’s kind of a long story, but the gist of it is that back in 1915, a dude lost his friend in WW1 and wrote a poem about it that mentioned the red poppy. The poem became famous, and in 1921, it inspired an American (yeah, that’s right) named Moina Michael to make and sell red silk poppies. The Royal British Legion ordered 9 million of them and sold all of them that November, raising over £106,000 (more than 3 million pounds in today’s money) to help WW1 veterans with employment and housing.
Fast forward 102 years and tens of millions of dollars later, and here we are. Oh, and by the way, those millions of paper poppies? They are made at “The Poppy Factory,” which was founded in 1926 and to this day employs disabled former service members, while also helping other veterans find work.
So here’s my real question – how is it that the British are so much fucking better at this than we are? I’m over here walking around in a sea of poppy-wearing Brits, while most of you probably forgot that tomorrow is Veteran’s Day. And you can’t really be blamed for that, because let’s be honest: it’s a half-ass holiday at best. It’s celebrated every November 11th, but everywhere from the stock market (when it falls during the week) to the supermarket is open for business like it’s any other day, meaning that most of us – including veterans – have to work instead of taking the time to honor our nation’s heroes. Sure, it’s a day on the calendar where veterans can get a free Grand Slam at Denny’s and some random politicians take part in a few ceremonies so that they can check the box, but there are no poppies or anything of the sort, no real holiday, no remembrance that appropriately reflects the sacrifice these men and women have made. And frankly, as I see all that’s being done here for the British soldiers that fought alongside so many of our own veterans, I’m embarrassed.
So this year, how about we all pledge to do a little bit better? I know that it’s no Red Poppy Appeal, but maybe instead of blowing all of your money on beer for Saturday’s tailgate, you can make a donation to the Wounded Warrior Project, the Yellow Ribbon Fund, or the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans? Or maybe skip the game all together and volunteer at your local veterans’ service organization (your local Elks Lodge or VFW can help you find opportunities in your area). Personally, I’m going to go visit my uncle and let him tell me all of the war stories he wants, despite the fact that I’ve heard them a million times…and I’m going to wear my red poppy while doing it. .
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Jenna Crowley
Jenna used to be known as 2NOTBrokeGirls, but then one of the girls actually went broke, so she's struck out on her own. Jenna spends her free time saving the world, one sorority girl at a time (usually while wearing yoga pants), questioning why she decided to get a doctorate, documenting her love of all things cheese related, and hosting the new PGP podcast Don't Take It From Us. You can ask her anything you want about football, using your boobs to get what you want, and pizza at @JennaLCrowley on Twitter or via email at JennaLCrowley@gmail.com.
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Yeah this is not an accurate take. There are 48,000+ VSOs (Veteran Service Organizations) within the US who are all aimed at helping Veterans. Oh and for the love of all that is holy do not just donate to Wounded Warrior Project. Their overhead is insane and a hilariously little amount of money donated to them actually goes to Veterans. If you like the notion of supporting wounded Veterans please donate to the DAV, instead.
I would like to see and article from you Kiawah highlighting some of the best ways to get involved or the best organizations to donate to in order to assist veterans. I think it would be helpful for a lot of PGP readers and you certainly have a better idea than the majority of us.
I heard it’s less than 20%. Don’t know if that’s true but terrible if it’s even close to that
55% or so. They are cleaning up now but a few years ago they spent more on their own conferences and “team building activities” than they spent on their entire mental health budget. I don’t want to downplay it by any means but I think PTSD is overblown and not nearly as prevalent as the media makes it out to be but the fact that they spent more on things like a ski trip in Colorado Springs than they did on mental health investments is disgusting.
I’m a social worker at a VA hospital and I was drawn to the field because I have family and friends who have served. I can tell you, based both on abundant quantitative research and also personal anecdotes, that PTSD is not overblown and affects every aspect of a veteran’s life. These veterans tend to be the ones who society despises and shits on (homeless people, addicts, felons, mentally ill, those who depend on welfare, “go get a job and stop mooching” etc). We the people tend to care about the “worthy” veterans, those who come back and march in parades, get jobs, and wear medals, the ones that make us feel good about ourselves and how well we take care of our veterans. Those who come back changed by the horrors of war are the ones who make us uncomfortable, so we ignore them and pat ourselves on the back for the great job we’re doing. We as a country CAN do much better.
There’s a lot to unpack in that comment, the first thing I’ll clarify is this: when I say overblown I’m not talking about the side-effects each individual feels and has impacted them. What I’m referencing is that the impression by non-Veterans on Veterans is overblown. The assumption that we all have it is what is overblown. I get two questions more than any other when I reference my service: did you kill anyone and do you have ptsd.
Your argument that society only cares about worthy Veterans is patently false when examining what the 48,000 VSOs actually do. Those VSOs came about because of the failures of the DoD and the VA to actively address the problems we face when leaving the military. Society recognized the shortcomings of the federal government and has gone about creating infrastructure and mechanisms to address the epic failures of the government. Society is actually the one doing something about it while the government just keeps wearing a label pin and posting flags on Facebook under the impression that’s somehow making a difference. If this article and your comment were taking shots at the VA or transition programs then I’d be all for it. But taking shots at society is where I draw the line. They’ve done more than anyone else.
Veteran care in the US is all encompassing, including benefits that no other country has like the GI Bill and home loans. We clearly have a long way to go as it relates to taking care of our veterans, but saying that other countries are “kicking our ass” because of a lapel pin is false.
Watching my mom and dad deal with that “all encompassing” healthcare has been one of the most infuriating and disappointing parts of being a military kid. There’s a ton it doesn’t cover, hoops you have to jump through that make access to care a complete joke, and horrendous medical care at many of the facilities. (A quick google search will leave you horrified and embarrassed.) When my husband retires we will be opting to use more expensive, but far better, healthcare for him.
Not sure what your individual experience was but as a fellow military youngling I had a good and much more affordable experience with Tricare than I would have had in the private sector. From everything I understand VA hospitals are touch and go depending on region but I have been to civilian facilities my entire life and only had 1 coverage gap and that was seeing a podiatrist for an obscure pectoral fin issue.
“Veteran care in the US is all encompassing, including benefits that no other country has like the GI Bill and home loans.”
Considering that most of those things are already given to British citizens as a bare minimum, maybe all they’ve got left to do specifically for veterans is a lapel pin.
People wear poppies in Canada too, pretty much all common wealth countries wear one Remembrance Day
I’m Canadian and I thought this was par for the course until I moved to the states. Canada’s poppy’s work much better than the paper ones in the UK as far as saying on your jacket.
It’s an annual tradition to stab myself with the pin and then lose my poppy within 5 mins of getting one though.
Yea I’ve done that a few more things than I would like to admit to. Trick is to weave the pin back through the poppy and have the tip point outwards towards your shoulder so you don’t continuously stab yourself
I’ll honor British vets except those that died 1776 when America kicked their asses.
in 1776*
The British have never kicked our ass. 2-0. Never forget it.
From my experience, the US media often hides the fact that we are at war. Watch any broadcast overseas, and they immediately start with stories following their troops abroad. I think we simply become numb and do not realize what happens outside of our own states.
Currently working in a joint environment, all of the Brits, Aussies, Kiwis, and Canuks rock the poppy on their uniform until Remembrance Day. Which makes since, comparing our 100k lost during WWI to their 1-1.2 million collectively.
Saying this is “kicking our ass” is like saying the people who do nothing but post “prayers for ____” on Facebook are doing more than volunteers. What a foolish Friday afternoon post.
We honor our vets by standing every time our national anthem plays!
Except if you’re an (overpaid) NFL player.