Why all these mutterings about a mysterious unnamed captain who died in a war, or whose son died in a war, and maybe someone thinks he didn't get enough respect? I don't know who these specific people were. Did this happen before I was born? How would I correctly frame any commentary when I have no idea who they are? It is always a very sad story when a son is killed in a war. Millions, maybe even billions of people have lost sons in wars, defending their country's honor and glory. It is always awkward to know what to say because words alone can never fill the empty space of a missing loved one.
Which brings us to the subject of John Birch, a Baptist missionary who was not really so much a missionary as working undercover for the U.S. army during World War II. While traveling in China he was shot and killed by Chinese Communists. He was only 27 years old. So young. There was no time for him to get married and have a family.
If only John Birch had surrendered his gun to the authorities, then perhaps his life would have been spared after a short time of imprisonment.
But as it happened, John Birch's stubborn reluctance to surrender his gun to the Communist authorities led to an angry exchange of words and finally to the shooting death of John. So sad.
