John McCrae wrote “In Flanders Fields,” the poem that helped popularize the red poppy as a remembrance symbol.
McCrae was a Canadian physician, soldier, and poet who served during the First World War. He wrote the poem in May 1915 after the death of his friend Lieutenant Alexis Helmer during the Second Battle of Ypres in Belgium.
The poem describes poppies growing among the graves of soldiers in Flanders, a region of Belgium where intense trench warfare had taken place. Its imagery connected the flower with sacrifice, remembrance, and the duty to continue the struggle.
The red poppy later became associated with remembrance observances in countries including the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and Australia. McCrae died in 1918 before the war ended, after serving as a medical officer.