Franklin J. Camper (born 1946) is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

veteran, known

mercenary A mercenary, sometimes also known as a soldier of fortune or hired gun, is a private individual, particularly a soldier, that joins a military conflict for personal profit, is otherwise an outsider to the conflict, and is not a member of any o ...

, educator, and writer. He has written both

non-fiction Nonfiction, or non-fiction, is any document or media content that attempts, in good faith, to provide information (and sometimes opinions) grounded only in facts and real life, rather than in imagination. Nonfiction is often associated with be ...

and

fiction Fiction is any creative work, chiefly any narrative work, portraying individuals, events, or places that are imaginary, or in ways that are imaginary. Fictional portrayals are thus inconsistent with history, fact, or plausibility. In a traditi ...

books about his service in

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

with the 4th Infantry Division's Long Range Reconnaissance Patrol (

LRRP A long-range reconnaissance patrol, or LRRP (pronounced "lurp"), is a small, well-armed reconnaissance team that patrols deep in enemy-held territory.Ankony, Robert C., ''Lurps: A Ranger's Diary of Tet, Khe Sanh, A Shau, and Quang Tri,'' revised ...

), and also books related to military tactics and how to survive as a mercenary. Prior to becoming a writer, Camper worked for nearly two decades as a mercenary. He trained mercenaries at a school he established in

Dolomite, Alabama Dolomite is an unincorporated community in Jefferson County, Alabama, United States. Today much of the community's residential neighborhoods lie within the corporate limits of the City of Birmingham and much of its business district lie within th ...

, near Birmingham.

Background

Several newspapers and radio stations reported that Camper was involved in the Air India bombings in the 1980s, noting that he had trained one of the

Sikh Sikhs ( or ; pa, ਸਿੱਖ, ' ) are people who adhere to Sikhism, Sikhism (Sikhi), a Monotheism, monotheistic religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Gu ...

bombers at his mercenary school. The commando training school was located in unincorporated

Jefferson County, Alabama Jefferson County is the List of counties in Alabama, most populous county in the U.S. state of Alabama, located in the central portion of the state. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, its population was 674,721. Its county seat i ...

, about 20 miles west of Dolomite. Camper said that he was not aware of the Sikh's plans although he said he was paid US$ 10,000 plus a retainer fee by an international Sikh network to produce a blueprint and a manual for terrorist strikes in India and abroad. On May 21, 1986, Camper was arrested on suspicion of conspiring with two California women: Charlotte Wychoff and Elizabeth Leta Hamilton, to set two car bombs to kill Robyn Richoff and Harriet Russo. The attempt failed. The intended victims were disgruntled employees of Hamilton and Wychoff. Camper was sentenced to 14 years in prison for his part in the bombings. The

FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and its principal Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement age ...

has acknowledged that Camper was personally responsible in 1985 for saving the life of

Rajiv Gandhi Rajiv Gandhi (; 20 August 1944 – 21 May 1991) was an Indian politician who served as the sixth prime minister of India from 1984 to 1989. He took office after the 1984 assassination of his mother, then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, to beco ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

. Prime Minister Gandhi was in the US on a diplomatic mission when the incident occurred. Camper's life story was allegedly optioned for a feature film, however to date it hasn't yet been released. He is retired and lives in

Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Birmingham is the seat of Jefferson County, Alabama's most populous county. As of the 2021 census estimates, Birmingham had a population of 197,575, down 1% fr ...

with his wife.

Publications

* ''The Mission'' (Manor Books, 1979) * ''Sandcastles'' (Manor Books, 1980) * ''Mercenary Operations Manuel'' (Desert Publishing, 1986) * ''L.R.R.P.: The Professional'' (Dell Publishing, 1988) * ''Merc: Professional'' (Dell Publishing, 1988) * ''Long Range Recon Patrol'' (Namiki Shobo

apan Apan is a city and one of the 84 municipalities of Hidalgo, in central-eastern Mexico. The municipality covers an area of 346.9 km². Overview As of 2005, the municipality had a total population of 39,247. It was an important site in the Wa ...

1990) * ''Covert Operations'' (Ashai Sonarama

1991) * ''Special Operations'' (Ashai Sonarama

1991) * ''Shamal'' (Ashai Sonarama

1992) * ''High Seas Security'' (

Loompanics Loompanics Unlimited was an American book seller and publisher specializing in nonfiction on generally unconventional or controversial topics. The topics in their title list included drugs, weapons, survivalism, anarchism, sex, conspiracy theories ...

, 1993) * ''Live To Spend It: A Mercenary Guide for the 90s'' (Delta Press, 1994) * ''The MK/Ultra Secret'' (Christopher Scott Publishing, 1997) * ''Mindbenders'' (Zinn Communication, 1999)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Camper, Frank 1946 births Living people American male writers American mercenaries People from Jefferson County, Alabama United States Army personnel of the Vietnam War United States Army soldiers