Norman Bethune Statue - Montreal, QC, Canada - Gifts from Other Countries on Waymarking.com

Norman Bethune was born on March 4, 1890 in Gravenhurst, ON, Canada. He attended the University of Toronto, When World War I broke out in 1914 he interrupted his medical studies and joined the Canadian Army Field Ambulance service to be a stretcher-bearer in France. After recuperating from wounds, he returned to Toronto and graduated with as a medical doctor in 1916.

An ardent anti-fascist, he joined the Republican forces during the Spanish Civil War as a surgeon. He then joined the Communist Eighth Route Army in China during the Second Sino-Japanese War. He is credited with bringing modern western medicine to rural China by treating villagers as well as wounded soldiers, thereby becoming a hero to the Communist Chinese Government. He died of septicaemia acquired while working as a surgeon in China on November 12, 1939. Today he is highly regarded within China. The Norman Bethune Medal, established in 1991, is the highest medical honor awarded by China.

In 1976, City of Montreal renamed a parcel of land at intersection of Guy Street and De Maisonneuve Boulevard West as Norman Bethune Square and the People’s Republic of China donates a life-size, white stone sculpture of Norman Bethune by Situ Jie to the City of Montreal. In 2008 both the square and the statue were restored.

The statue depicts Br. Bethune wearing a long, calf-length coat, a Mao-type jacket opened at the collar, trousers cinched at the ankles and sandals. He is standing with his left hand held at waist level and his right arm is at his side. A 6' high by 2' square granite base is inscribed: