January 26 - John McCrea

Lieutenant Colonel John Alexander McCrae died January 28th, 1918. He was a Canadian poet, physician, author, artist and soldier during World War I and a surgeon during the Second Battle of Ypres, in Belgium. He is best known for writing the famous war memorial poem "In Flanders Fields". McCrae was appointed as a field surgeon in the Canadian artillery and was in charge of a field hospital during the Second Battle of Ypres in 1915. McCrae's friend and former student, Lt. Alexis Helmer, was killed in the battle, and his burial inspired the poem, "In Flanders Fields", which was written on May 3, 1915 and first published in the magazine Punch.

For more information, access www.poemhunter.com/john-mccrae/biography/
​
The poem I’m reading is “In Flanders Fields”.

Listen to Poem