The poem In Flanders Fields.... There is a very interesting story that goes along with this poem. Poppies are a strange flower. The ground can be ripe with other flowers all around, and the poppy seeds will lie there dormant for years unless the ground is disturbed, then they will sprout. This takes place in Belgium. Flanders is a good portion of Belgium, and in 1915 a huge battle was taking place, known as the Ypres (EE-Pres) Salient. It lasted for about a month. When done, the Allies began digging the graves, thus disturbing the ground, and when the internment was finished, poppies sprouted everywhere, more than had ever been seen before, thousands and thousands of blood red poppies. Major John McCrae of the 4th Canadian Division was inspired to write his poem. He wrote it, but soon discovered, for some reason unknown, that he didn't like it, and threw it away. A Canadian Sergent Major, who saw him writing it, picked it up, read it, and remarked how perfectly the poem described what had happened and what the place looked like now. He sent it to the Spectator in London for publication, but the Spectator rejected it out of hand and sent it back. But somehow another paper got hold of it, and published it. In the process, they misspelled McCrae's name McCree, and promoted him to Leutenant Colonel. And that is how it was published.