John W. DeCamp (July 6, 1941 – July 27, 2017) was an American
Republican
Republican can refer to:
Political ideology
* An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law.
** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
politician and author who served in the
Nebraska
Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the sout ...
legislature from 1971 to 1987. He served as an infantry officer in the United States Army during the
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War (also known by other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam a ...
. In 1975, he initiated Operation Baby Lift, which evacuated 2,800 orphaned Vietnamese children. In 1992, DeCamp wrote a mass market paperback book titled ''The Franklin Cover-up: Child Abuse, Satanism, and Murder in Nebraska'' in which he alleged the supposed existence of a Franklin child prostitution ring which supposedly involved murder and Satanism.
Nebraska
Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the sout ...
, in 1941. He joined the
United States Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...
during the
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War (also known by other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam a ...
, attained the rank of Captain in the infantry, and was decorated for 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 ...
Vietnamese
Vietnamese may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Vietnam, a country in Southeast Asia
** A citizen of Vietnam. See Demographics of Vietnam.
* Vietnamese people, or Kinh people, a Southeast Asian ethnic group native to Vietnam
** Overse ...
children, and was later assigned to serve as an aide to
William Colby
William Egan Colby (January 4, 1920 – May 6, 1996) was an American intelligence officer who served as Director of Central Intelligence (DCI) from September 1973 to January 1976.
During World War II Colby served with the Office of Strateg ...
, then-Deputy Ambassador to Vietnam.
DeCamp began his election campaign for the Nebraska State Senate while still stationed in Vietnam, was elected and served four terms as a Nebraska state senator from 1971 to 1987, during which he was described as "a strong advocate for veterans".
After the Legislature
In 1992, DeCamp wrote a
mass market paperback
A paperback (softcover, softback) book is one with a thick paper or paperboard cover, and often held together with glue rather than stitches or staples. In contrast, hardcover (hardback) books are bound with cardboard covered with cloth, lea ...
book titled ''The Franklin Cover-up: Child Abuse, Satanism, and Murder in Nebraska'' in which he alleged that the Franklin child prostitution ring allegations were actually true and involved murder and Satanism. In 1993, DeCamp was featured in an unreleased Discovery Channel documentary called ''Conspiracy of Silence''.
DeCamp served as a lawyer for the Militia of Montana, a militia-movement group, in the 1990s.
In 1996, DeCamp ran for the U.S. Senate as a Libertarian, but lost to Republican
Chuck Hagel
Charles Timothy Hagel ( born October 4, 1946)Gage County and southern Lancaster County. In the nonpartisan primary, he placed fourth of six candidates, with 12.3% of the vote; the top two vote-getters moved on to the general election, in which Norm Wallman was elected to the seat.
In Nebraska State Senator
Ernie Chambers
Ernest William Chambers (born July 10, 1937) is an American politician and civil rights activist who represented North Omaha's 11th District in the Nebraska State Legislature from 1971 to 2009 and again from 2013 to 2021. He could not run in 2 ...
's 2008 satirical lawsuit against God, DeCamp acted as the attorney for God.
DeCamp died in
Norfolk, Nebraska
Norfolk ( or ) is a city in Madison County, Nebraska, United States, 113 miles northwest of Omaha and 83 miles west of Sioux City at the intersection of U.S. Routes 81 and 275. The population was 24,210 at the 2010 census, making it the ninth ...
Omaha World-Herald
The ''Omaha World-Herald'' is a daily newspaper in the midwestern United States, the primary newspaper of the Omaha-Council Bluffs metropolitan area. It was locally owned from its founding in 1885 until 2020, when it was sold to the newspaper ch ...
'' (July 31, 2017). Archived fro the original. Retrieved July 31, 2017. He had suffered from Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's disease.