Lieutenant Colonel John Alexander McCrae , MD ( November 30 , 1872 - January 28 , 1918 ) was a Canadian poet , physician , author , artist and soldier during World War I , and a surgeon during the Second Battle of Ypres , in Belgium .
Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae ( November 30 , 1872 - January 28 , 1918 ) was a Canadian poet and soldier in World War I who is best known for writing the poem `` In Flanders Fields '' after seeing the death of his friend the day before .