A commemorative plaque dedicated to Lt.-Col. McCrae was unveiled on June 7, 1999, by Mrs. Sheila Copps, Canadian Heritage Minister. The bronze plaque, set on top of a white stone base, carries the following text in French, English, Dutch and German: “Lt.-Col. John McCrae (1872-1918). While serving as a military surgeon in Belgium, John McCrae wrote In Flanders Fields, one of the most enduring poems of the First World War. Born at Guelph, Ontario, he was practicing medicine in Montreal when he volunteered, in 1914, to join the Canadian Expeditionary Force which was being sent to fight in Europe. His stirring poem, written near the trenches at Ypres salient, provided a strong stimulus to the Allied war effort. McCrae died in 1918 while serving at a Canadian Army Hospital in Boulogne-sur-Mer. His words have made the poppy a lasting symbol of self-scarifice in war.” Next to the commemorative plaque, the text of In Flanders Fields is written in English.