The haunting poem, In Flanders Fields, was written by John McCrae, M.D., a Lieutenant Colonel in the Canadian Army during World War I. He was a Zeta Psi from the University of Toronto chapter. Although it was written by a Canadian in response to the death of his friend and former student, the poem is a fitting one to print on Memorial Day, the day for remembering those Americans who have given the ultimate sacrifice and died during their service to the country.
McCrae wrote the poem after the May 2, 1915 death and burial of his friend and former student Lieutenant Alexis Hannum Helmer. McCrae died of pneumonia on January 28, 1918, while commanding No. 3 Canadian General Hospital (McGill) at Boulogne.
In Flanders Fields
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.
A memorial on the John McCrae Memorial Site, Boezinge, Ypres, West Flanders, Belgium.
Last fall, on the weekend of November 11, 2016, the Zeta Psi chapters gathered to honor McCrae’s legacy. They wore a poppy pin and McCrae’s poem. McCrae’s chapter and the Fraternity itself are partners.
