The poem “In Flanders Fields” was written by a Canadian physician and soldier Lieutenant-Colonel John McCrae about his fallen military brother, soldier Alexis Helmer, who was killed while they both fought at the Second Battle of Ypres (western Belgium) during the First World War.

Legend has it that McCrae’s fellow soldiers reclaimed the piece of paper it was written on after he, dissatisfied with his work, discarded it.

If you’ve ever wondered how the poppy came to be the symbol for Remembrance Day (Canada and the United Kingdom’s version of America’s Memorial Day), look no further. It stems from the aforementioned poem which, in the following video, is being read by one of Canada’s favorite sons: singer/songwriter and poet Leonard Cohen.

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