Photo via Richland College/Twitter

Photo via Richland College/Twitter

You read that right: Puppies. Veterans. And a meaningful stocking stuffer to boot.

Sign up for our newsletter!

* indicates required

Head to Richland College at Abrams and Walnut to see a unique and picturesque poppy display that honors veterans. Ceramic poppies are available for purchase for $10 in the campus administration office, or call 972.761.6712 to order.

Richland College last week hosted a touching ceremony to honor veterans using the symbolic poppy flower. The school’s media team posted a video (below) of the event.

Here’s the reasoning behind it: Poppy flowers grow naturally in conditions of disturbed earth throughout Western Europe. Remember the old John McCrae poem, “In Flanders Field the poppies blow, between the crosses row by row …”? In late 1914, WWI raged and ripped battlefields to shreds. Once the conflict ended, the poppy was one of the only plants to grow on the otherwise barren land. The flora also were known to grow around the bodies of fallen soldiers.

Richland college students created and installed 5171 red ceramic poppies to honor the Texas servicemen who were killed during WWI. A single yellow poppy honored the only female who served and died during the war.

Professor Clive Siegel. Photo via Richland College/Twitter

Professor Clive Siegel. Photo via Richland College/Twitter

Lake Highlands resident Robert J. Smith, II was the event’s Veteran of Honor; he lay the final poppy into the display.

Clive Siegel, who we featured in November’s issue, lectured on the history of the poppy later that afternoon.

All poppy purchase proceeds benefit Puppies Behind Bars, an organization that teaches inmates to train service dogs for disabled veterans with PTSD or other brain injuries.