Donna Larson Receives Award From Buddy Poppy Program

Donna Larson, a member of the Auxiliary of VFW Post 3486 in Milbank, recently received a Buddy Poppy Award for her outstanding participation in the 2022 Buddy Poppy program. Larson has been a member of the VFW Auxiliary for over 50 years. She began as a junior member in Webster and spent many years with the Auxiliary of VFW Post 791 in Yankton. This was the first time, she was in charge of the annual poppy program, but she said, “We knocked everyone’s socks off.” 

Milbank’s Auxiliary ordered and paid for 2000 poppies this year. The poppies are never for sale. They are a gift that is usually reciprocated by a free-will offering. The money collected goes to the veterans who assemble the poppies, rehabilitation and service programs, and to help support the VFW National Home for Children.

In addition to the poppies distributed to individuals and businesses, Auxiliary members, with the assistance of VFW Post 3486, observed Memorial Day 2022, by erecting 60 crosses on the gravesites of deceased members in the Milbank Cemetery. They also placed 36 crosses in the Catholic Cemetery, two in the Marvin Cemetery, and eight in the Wilmot Cemetery.