The John Birch Society , an American anti-communist organization formed 13 years after his death , was named in his honor by Robert H. W. Welch , Jr. , who considered him to be a martyr and the first victim of the Cold War .
The John Birch Society , an American anti-communist organization , was named in his honor by Robert H. W. Welch , Jr. in 1958 . 
 Welch considered Birch to be a martyr and the first victim of the Cold War .