Magazine content is available exclusively for TIME subscribers.Nation: WHO WAS JOHN BIRCH?
On Aug. 25, 1945, ten days after the end of World War II, a slender, 27-year-old captain in the Army Air Forces named John Birch was kitted in China by a band of Communists. Sixteen years later, John Birch lives on as the rallying symbol of the archconservative, anti-Communist John Birch Society. Yet Birch himself remains a shadowy figure. Who was he? How did he live? And how did he die?
JOHN BIRCH was born in Landour, India, to a husband-and-wife team of missionaries. When John was two years old, his family returned to the...
To read the entire article, you must be a TIME subscriber. Already registered? Sign in below
Current print subscribers to register
Subscribe now to get TIME All Access
Email, Password or Region is incorrect
A required form parameter was missing.
The System is currently down. Please try again in a few minutes.
Email Address is invalid
Password is blank
Most Popular »
- E.T. Turns 30: 10 Things You Didn't Know About Our Favorite Extraterrestrial
- How Cash Keeps Poor People Poor
- 15-Year-Old Creates Test for Pancreatic Cancer
- Nevada Ghosts: Rare Photos From an A-Bomb Test
- 10 Dangerous Products You Might Have in Your Home
- Obama Stumbles? Why the President's Right to Talk About Bain
- Could a Fertility Gene Discovery Lead to New Male Contraception?
- Euro Crisis: Why A Greek Exit Could Be Much Worse Than Expected
- Fourth Flesh-Eating-Bacteria Case Confirmed in Georgia, Possible Fifth
- Star Wars Turns 35: How TIME Covered the Film Phenomenon
- Researchers Probe the Potential Health Benefits of Palm Oil
- A Visit with Turkey's Controversial Religious Movement
- Feeding the Planet Without Destroying It
- Bubble on the Potomac
- Falcon's Liftoff: How a Private Firm Could Change Space Exploration
- The Fatal Flight of the Superjet 100: Why Did It Slam Into a Mountain?
- Learning That Works
- The Man Who Remade Motherhood
- Bibi's Choice
- Seoul: 10 Things to Do
More News from Our Partners
Top Stories on TIME.com
Quotes of the Day »
RAY KELLY, New York City Police Commissioner, on the arrest of a New Jersey man in one of the nation's most baffling missing-children cases, the disappearance more than three decades ago of 6-year-old Etan Patz.
