Author Honors Veterans and the Meaning of Red Poppies in Montana

In a column for Montana Talks, a Billings resident detailed a grocery store encounter in the Heights with a veteran offering traditional red poppies, prompting a reflection on family military service and the upcoming holiday.

The column reflects on growing up as a military kid, noting that the author’s father served in the Army, a grandpa served in the Navy, and two uncles served in the Air Force. The piece connects this family history to the tradition of stopping for a red poppy when seeing veterans outside locations such as Walmart in the Heights.

According to the publication, Veterans Day falls on Wednesday, November 11, and is described by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs as a day to thank and honor all who served honorably in wartime or peacetime.

While the VA notes that wearing poppies is traditionally a Memorial Day practice originating from John McCrae’s 1915 poem “In Flanders Fields,” NBC Washington reports that the red poppy is commonly used on both Veterans Day and Memorial Day to commemorate those who served and sacrificed their lives.

The writing highlights the Veterans of Foreign Wars program, noting that the VFW has distributed poppies for over a century and held its first nationwide distribution before Memorial Day in 1922. VFW Post 6774 is located in the Heights, and its website explains that disabled and needy veterans in VA hospitals assemble Buddy Poppies.

According to the VFW, the program pays the veterans who assemble the flowers, provides financial assistance for rehabilitation and service programs, and partially supports the VFW National Home, with DC Military reporting that most proceeds stay local to fund veteran services and welfare. Additionally, data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey collected from 2020 through 2024 estimates that 79,357 veterans lived in Montana, including 12,127 in Yellowstone County.