Missionary and soldier
by Thomas Ray
September 12, 1918, Presbyterian missionaries to India, George and Ethel Birch, rejoiced in the birth of their firstborn. They named him John. In 1920, George’s declining health forced the family to return to America, settling in New Jersey near Ethel’s family. The Birches soon realized their denomination had become infested with theological liberalism. They withdrew their membership and were immersed, uniting with a fundamentalist Baptist church.
John Birch was converted and baptized when he was seven. Everyone who came in contact with John soon realized he possessed unique mental abilities. At the age of seven he could read like an adult, and his ability to memorize never ceased to amaze. When John was 11 he attended a missionary conference where he heard a missionary describe the death wail of native tribesmen. A few days later John’s parents found a note he left on the kitchen table, “The Lord is calling me to the mission field. I have the answer to the death wail of the lost.”
As the Great Depression continued to worsen, George and Ethel found it increasingly difficult to put food on the table for their growing family. George decided the best course of action would be to move to Georgia where he owned some land left to him by his mother. This also meant that John would attend nearby Mercer University. In 1935, John enrolled in Mercer with a ministerial scholarship. He excelled as a student. He was a champion debater, never losing a debate. John’s English professor believed he could have had a great career as a writer.
During John’s senior year, a friend persuaded him to go hear J. Frank Norris, who was preaching at a church near Mercer. The first night, John was astonished at Norris’s preaching, and when the invitation was given the altar was filled with people accepting Christ and rededicating their lives. John was so impressed he decided to stay for another night.
In Norris’s second sermon, he told about 75-year-old Mother Sweet laboring in China and desperately needing young men to come help reap the harvest. At the conclusion of the message, John introduced himself and told Norris he was a senior at Mercer, and when he graduated he would go to China.
John graduated in 1939 at the top of his class. He moved to Fort Worth and enrolled in Norris’s Bible institute. A year later, John and fellow missionary Oscar Wells sailed for China. John immediately began learning the language, and within a year he was speaking like a native. After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, the Japanese issued an arrest warrant for John. Warned by Christian friends, he fled to the interior. He was avoiding the Japanese when he was told about several Americans hiding in a boat. John found their hiding place and learned this was Col. Jimmy Doolittle and four of his crew who had ditched their plane after their heroic raid on Tokyo. John’s language skills and the assistance of sympathetic Chinese enabled him to lead Col. Doolittle and his crew to safety.
John enlisted in the military and offered his services as a chaplain, but his talent as a translator and his ability to gather information about the Japanese made him indispensable in the war against Japan. John’s achievements earned him the Legion of Merit, “For exceptionally meritorious conduct in performance of outstanding service.”
John’s bravery was legendary, but he never compromised his commitment to Christ. He was first and foremost a missionary. One of John’s fellow officers said, “He was the most brilliant, finest, most able, bravest officer I ever met.” The Japanese surrendered on August 15, 1945. John was elated. He planned to return home and visit his family and then return to China to resume his missionary work. Tragically, only ten days later, on August 25, John was murdered and his body mutilated by Chinese Communist soldiers who were supposed to be our allies. To our government’s shame, John’s murder was covered up.
The seed John Birch sowed is still reaping a harvest. You can read more about John Birch in The Secret File on John Birch by James and Marti Hefley.