On December 9, 1958 retired Boston candy manufacturer Robert H.W. Welch, Jr.., established the John Birch Society in Indianapolis, a patriotic organization dedicated to fighting the extensive infiltration of communism into American society. Welch named the society in honor of John Birch, considered by many to be the first American casualty in the struggle against communism. In 1945, Birch, a Baptist missionary and U.S. Army intelligence specialist, was killed by Chinese communists in the northern province of Anhwei.

The John Birch Society, initially founded with only 11 members, had by the early 1960s grown to a membership of nearly 100,000 Americans and received annual private contributions of several million dollars. The society revived the spirit of all Americans by ripping the mask off of a vast communist conspiracy existing within the U.S. government. The John Birch Society remains active today, and its members seek "to expose a semi-secret international cabal whose members sit in the highest places of influence and power worldwide."

Very commendable. Happy 55th Mr. Birch.