LANGLEY AIR FORCE BASE, Va. –
On the battle-scarred fields of Verdun, France, rubble litters the landscape. Upturned soil and wretched trees lurch toward the sky in ugly gray masses, seeking the sun behind a smokescreen of artillery fire.
Amid all the destruction, and long after the fighting stopped, small, poppy flowers grow to remind those who survived that no matter the circumstance, life presses forward.
For British Royal Air Force Flight Lt. Richard Bush, 480th Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Wing intelligence exchange officer, it is important to remember why he wears a red poppy instead of white.
"During World War I, the troops saw only poppies growing after artillery shelling," said Bush. "They said the poppies were red with the blood of the fallen."
Bush wanted to bring the European holiday Remembrance Day, which is similar to Veteran's Day in America, to Langley Air Force Base, Va. Also known as Poppy Day, the holiday honors veterans worldwide and other victims of war. A common symbol of remembrance is the red poppy.
Bush honored the holiday though the Royal British Legion, a United Kingdom-based charity devoted to aiding veterans.
The legion offers welfare services, financial aid and specialty services to qualified individuals. It also hosts remembrance tours and pilgrimages, and they give advice about separation entitlements, benevolent help and similar avenues veterans can take to improve their quality of life.
The legion has an American branch of the charity designed to help veterans of conflicts in which the United States and Great Britain fought together. Bush raised money through donations for the legion, knowing how much it can impact a family.
"When I was back in England, I had a troop whose mom had passed away, leaving him to raise his younger siblings," said Bush. "The Legion gave the grieving family a trip to Euro Disney and helped out with a mortgage on a house for them."
Bush was touched by the gesture and decided he would help give more than just one family the opportunity to truly live again after such a catastrophe.
"Whether American or British, veterans have earned a fair shake," said Bush. "This charity allows me to further aid them and show them how truly honorable it is to follow in their footsteps."
Col. Jeffrey Kruse, 480th ISR Wing commander, believes having the legion represented at Langley does more than honor veterans.
"This charity strengthens the ties between the US and UK, and it honors our allies," said Kruse. "That is why I am privileged to be a part of the legion's efforts."
In America, any money donated to the American branch of the legion goes straight to those qualified for aid in America.
Kruse and Bush agree veterans, both homegrown and foreign, deserve to see their fallen comrades again in the heart that lies behind every red poppy worn.