Tag Archives: John McCrae

Anniversary of “In Flanders Fields”

Today is the 103rd anniversary of John McCrae writing the poem “In Flander’s Field.”

Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae composed “In Flanders Fields” at the battlefront during the second battle of Ypres in Belgium.

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place: and in the sky
The larks still bravely singing fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the dead: Short days ago,
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved: and now we lie
In Flanders fields!
Take up our quarrel with the foe
To you, from failing hands, we throw
The torch: be yours to hold it high
If ye break faith with us who die,
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields

The Poppy, made famous through John McCrae’s poem “In Flanders Fields” can be traced back to the Napoleonic Wars before being adopted in Canada.