John Birch (missionary)

John Birch
John Birch
	Captain John Birch, U.S. Army Air Forces
Birth name	John Morrison Birch
Born	May 28, 1918; Landour, United Provinces, British India (now in Uttarakhand, India)
Died	August 25, 1945 (aged 27); Xuzhou, Jiangsu, China
Allegiance	United States
Service/branch	United States Army
Years of service	1942–1945
Rank	Captain
Battles/wars	World War II
Awards	Army Distinguished Service Medal ; Legion of Merit (2)

John Morrison Birch (May 28, 1918 – August 25, 1945) was a United States Army Air Forces military intelligence captain, OSS field agent in China during World War II, as well as former Baptist minister and missionary. He was killed in a confrontation with Chinese Communist soldiers during an assignment he was ordered on by the OSS, ten days after the war ended.^[1]^[2] Birch was posthumously awarded the Army Distinguished Service Medal.

The John Birch Society (JBS), an American anti-communist organization, was named in his memory by Robert H. W. Welch Jr. in 1958.^[1] Welch considered Birch to be a martyr and the first casualty of the Cold War. Birch's parents joined the JBS as honorary life members.

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