Listed below are some of the on-going projects that our post is actively involved in supporting the community and the veterans.

As America bids their final farewell to the veterans, The Mt. Prospect VFW post has taken steps to ensure these patriotic GIs receive their ceremonial due.

 

All eligible veterans will be entitled to military funeral honors signifying America's gratitude for their honorable service. Upon request, VFW Post members will present the American flag to surviving family members, and a bugler will sound "Taps.

 

We believe this is a very important, meaningful and moving ceremony. It's an appropriate tribute for all of our veterans. People say the finality of 'Taps' and the presentation of the flag provide an emotional closure. The ceremony honoring the deceased veteran can be seen as an affirmation of the person's life, as well as an expression of the nation's gratitude.  Contact the VFW post for more information or scheduling the funeral honors.

Our post is honored to conduct memorial day remembrance for the veterans in our community at the Veterans memorial band shell.  We also participate in patriots day memorial services as well as the independence day parade to name a few. 

Citizenship

Buddy Poppy

Community Events

Funeral Services

Flag Education
U.S. FlagU.S. FlagColor GuardPoppy

Project List

The Mt. Prospect VFW Post members are available upon request for talks, presentations, veteran’s funerals, and other events. 

Click on this link to email your request:

Request

Teachers:

Check out our educational materials on the U.S. Flag. Go the our Education page for more information.

 

Download the material free without obligation.

The Post provides numerous projects and services to promote citizenship throughout our community and educational facilities.  Learn about flag facts and the history behind national patriotic holidays such as Loyalty Day, Independence Day and Memorial Day.  Veterans will speak to groups, provide presentations, and educational materials promoting citizenship.

On June 14, 1777, the Marine Committee of the Continental Congress adopted a resolution that gave birth to our national flag. The resolution read:

"Resolved that the flag of the United States be made of 13 stripes, alternate red and white, that the union be 13 stars, white in a blue field, representing a new constellation."

Flags and flag education are important elements of the VFW's Citizenship Education program. In fact, flags are the most commonly requested items from the VFW's Emblem and Supply Department which sells more than 250,000 flags each year.

The VFW publishes a flag booklet, "Ten Short Flag Stories," which you can request  through our post.

Veterans will present a flag education program to schools in the community upon request.  Download flag information from our Education page.

Among all the flowers that evoke the memories and emotions of war is the red poppy, which became associated with war after the publication of a poem written by Col. John McCrae of Canada. The poem, "In Flander's Field," describes blowing red fields among the battleground of the fallen.

For more than 75 years, the VFW's Buddy Poppy program has raised millions of dollars in support of veterans' welfare and the well being of their dependents.

The VFW conducted its first poppy distribution before Memorial Day in 1922, becoming the first veterans' organization to organize a nationwide distribution. The poppy soon was adopted as the official memorial flower of the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States.

It was during the 1923 encampment that the VFW decided that VFW Buddy Poppies be assembled by disabled and needy veterans who would be paid for their work to provide them with some form of financial assistance. The plan was formally adopted during the VFW's 1923 encampment. The next year, disabled veterans at the Buddy Poppy factory in Pittsburgh assembled VFW Buddy Poppies. The designation "Buddy Poppy" was adopted at that time.

In February 1924, the VFW registered the name "Buddy Poppy" with the U.S. Patent Office. A certificate was issued on May 20, 1924, granting the VFW all trademark rights in the name of Buddy under the classification of artificial flowers. The VFW has made that trademark a guarantee that all poppies bearing that name and the VFW label are genuine products of the work of disabled and needy veterans. No other organization, firm or individual can legally use the name "Buddy" Poppy.

Today, VFW Buddy Poppies are still assembled by disabled and needy veterans in VA Hospitals.

The minimal assessment (cost of Buddy Poppies) to VFW units provides compensation to the veterans who assemble the poppies, provides financial assistance in maintaining state and national veterans' rehabilitation and service programs and partially supports the VFW National Home for orphans and widows of our nation's veterans.