Harold M. Koch (1932 – August 15, 1995)[1] was an American Roman Catholic priest from Chicago who defected to the Soviet Union in 1966.
[2] His defection, which was included in a Soviet propaganda broadcast,[3] was in protest to the Vietnam War.
[4] However he decided to return to the United States three months later saying he wanted to get married.
[7] From 1958 to 1963 he served the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago, leaving when pushed out because of psychiatric problems.
[8] Koch died on August 15, 1995, due to liver failure.