by Gary Benoit
An elderly nun answered the door, wondering who might be there. She was not expecting anyone. When she opened the door, she was astonished. Standing in front of her was a police officer. She immediately recognized him, despite the fact that he was a mere boy the last time she had seen him, many years before.
The boy was one of her students in the parochial school where she had taught. As boys are wont to be and do, he was mischievous and would get into trouble. The nun prayed for the boy, hoping that he would choose the right path in life. And now she knew — instantly! — that he had. There he was, in his splendid blue uniform — years before the police were maligned as racist, fascist, etc. — that told her he was one of “the good guys.” The boy-become-man had sought her out to thank her for the positive influence she had had on his life. Overcome with emotion, the elderly nun broke down in tears. Her prayers had been answered!
The police officer was James F. Fitzgerald. He was born in New York in 1935, lived most of his life in New Jersey, and passed away in Pennsylvania last July at age 90. Over his long life, Jim was one of the good guys in more ways than his former teacher could have imagined. As a young man, he joined the Newark Police Department as a uniformed officer; he later became a detective on the city’s vice squad. But he did much more than oppose street criminals in a tough urban environment. He also cut short his career as a police officer to expose bad guys on a much higher level who not only wielded great political and economic power, but were using that power to radically transform America. Just one prong of their subversive agenda was to discredit and handcuff local police departments in favor of a national police force.
To expose the growing socialist/communist threat to the American way of life, Jim joined The John Birch Society in 1963, and then joined its staff in 1964 as a field coordinator for New Jersey and part of New York City. He organized JBS-affiliated “Support Your Local Police” committees that created the awareness that resulted in New Yorkers overwhelmingly rejecting a November 1966 citywide referendum for a so-called civilian review board to be run by anti-police leftists.
For many years, Jim served as the JBS’s national director of field activities. In 2016, he helped found the Law Enforcement Charitable Foundation and became its first president, a position he held until his passing. He retired from the JBS staff in 2019.
Jim had a quick sense of humor. When he met then-U.S. chess champion Lev Alburt, the grandmaster asked him if he played chess. Jim, employing his characteristic humor, quipped: “No, you play chess. I just move the pieces.” But there was much more to Jim than that. One faithful JBS member, who knew Jim for more than 60 years, observed after his passing, “In the rich legacy Jim left us besides his great sense of humor were his unwavering loyalty to the JBS, his integrity, honesty, humility of heart, and compassion for others less fortunate.”
Yes, Jim chose the right path, and he never wavered from it. He is survived by his wife, Adele, and son, Jim. May he rest in peace.