Part I: The Enigma of John McClure: From Nazi to Mercenary and Beyond
The man who brought Iran-Contra to Suriname
Introduction: The Far Right’s Shadow War in South America
Throughout this exploration of my childhood in South America and the foreign actors who sought to destabilize the region, one question persisted: How did all of this connect to the Iran-Contra affair? Despite uncovering numerous clues, a clear through-line remained elusive. Until now.
An extraordinary discovery has blown this investigation wide open—the autobiography of the enigmatic Dr. John. For months, this key figure in Operation Suriname remained a mystery. His real name unknown, his face only recently revealed. A false lead on LinkedIn briefly connected me to a different Doctor John from the same regiment, but the trail soon went cold.
Then came the book. This autobiography is a master key, unlocking hidden doors I never knew existed. In his own words, John details his journey from Nicaragua to Costa Rica, fighting alongside the Contras, collaborating with CIA cutouts and drug runners, all while feeding information back to Washington.
But John’s story goes far deeper than covert operations. It reveals a disturbing pattern of far-right involvement in South American affairs. John himself was a registered Nazi who attempted to establish chapters in Miami and Jacksonville. A former member of the Pagan biker gang, he served time for murdering a young Black man in Washington D.C. Most astonishingly, it was in prison that he became a psychiatrist.
This isn’t an isolated case. We’ve previously explored how John worked with George Baker of the ANSUS Foundation, a man who dreamed of creating “a white, autonomous enclave in Surinam, with luxury hotels and so forth.” Baker’s vision wasn’t just a pipe dream—he put money behind it, hiring Captain Zack and his neo-Nazi associates for another coup attempt in Suriname.
As we delve deeper, we’ll see how figures like Jack Wheeler and James Steele, along with publications like Soldier of Fortune, formed a network that provided the muscle and propaganda for operations in Nicaragua and Suriname. It’s a web of far-right ideologues, mercenaries, and covert operatives that stretches from the jungles of South America to the corridors of power in Washington.
This post will be a deep dive into John’s world, connecting the dots between Iran-Contra, Operation Suriname, and the far-right undercurrents that influenced both. I’ve condensed his book into a single, comprehensive article, omitting stories I’ve already shared (with links where relevant).
Warning: This is a long read, I’ve broken it up into three parts, but it’s a page-turner. We’re about to uncover a hidden chapter of history that will reshape our understanding of 1980s covert operations in South America and the role of far-right extremists in shaping them.
You may have noticed a few weeks’ silence since my last post. I thought I was done with this Substack, preparing a final installment with “Where are they now?” updates on key characters. I’d even begun reaching out to producers about adapting this into a podcast or Netflix documentary (if you have contacts, please let me know). Then, Dr. John’s book fell into my lap, and everything changed.
Buckle up, readers. This is the post that ties it all together, revealing a dark underbelly of extremism in Cold War geopolitics.
[Note to readers: This article is based on extensive research, including 220 sources. For those interested in verifying information or diving deeper into John McClure’s story, a full bibliography is available upon request.]
The Making of a Neo-Nazi: John McClure’s Early Years
If you’re looking for a story that captures the wild contradictions of 20th-century America, look no further than John Charles McClure. Born in 1939 in Palm Beach, Florida, McClure’s life reads like a bizarre movie script – from the son of a hardworking hairdresser to a prominent neo-Nazi leader. It’s a journey that tells us a lot about the hidden currents running through American society after World War II.
A Kid Caught Between Two Worlds
McClure’s childhood was a weird mix of working-class struggle and brushes with the rich and famous. His mom, Vera “Almeda” Fulz, was a hairdresser to the stars. For 12 hours a day, she’d be styling hair at the fancy Everglades Hair Dressing Salon in the Palm Beach Hotel. But her work didn’t stop there. After her shift, she’d hop on a plane to fly to the mansions of her super-rich clients.
Young John grew up hearing names like Rose Kennedy, Mrs. Walter Chrysler, and Zsa Zsa Gabor tossed around at home. His mom was living in two different worlds – working her fingers to the bone to make ends meet, while also getting an insider’s view of how the other half lived.
You can bet this strange double life left its mark on John. On one hand, he got to peek behind the curtain at a world of incredible wealth and power. On the other, he knew his family was firmly on the outside looking in. It’s not hard to see how this might have made the kid feel both resentful and like he didn’t quite fit in anywhere.
Grandma’s Dark Secret
While John’s mom was rubbing elbows with the rich and famous, his grandmother, Emma C. Fultz, was pulling him in a very different direction. According to John, Emma was part of something called the German-American Bund, which needs some explaining for folks today.
The German-American Bund was basically a fan club for Hitler that operated in the U.S. in the 1930s. At its peak, it had about 25,000 members who were openly cheering for the Nazis and trying to convince Americans that Hitler wasn’t such a bad guy after all. They even ran summer camps where kids would sing Nazi songs, wear uniforms, and play at being little soldiers – kind of like a twisted, Nazi version of the Boy Scouts.
Growing up under his grandmother’s influence, John was fed a steady diet of what he later called a “radical, Teutonic heritage.” Kids in Bund families were often taught to worship Hitler and buy into Nazi ideas. This stuff clearly got into young John’s head – by high school, he was already calling himself “always National-Socialist minded.”
Why Extremism Looked Good
To understand how a kid who grew up on the edges of high society ended up going full Nazi, we need to look at what was going on in America after the war. The 1950s were all about fitting in and paranoia about communists. For a young guy raised on stories about Nazi glory and how great Germans were supposed to be, the boring consumerism of 1950s America probably felt like a letdown.
It’s not uncommon for young people who feel like outsiders to get pulled into extreme ideologies. These belief systems offer a sense of purpose, a clear bad guy to fight against, and a group of people who think like you do. For McClure, being a neo-Nazi might have given him an identity and a cause that made him feel special in a society where he felt rejected.
A Promising Start at a Fancy Military School
Despite his unusual upbringing, young John McClure showed he had potential. In 1952, at 13 years old, he got into the prestigious Admiral Farragut Academy, a tough military prep school known for whipping kids into shape.
At Farragut, McClure found himself mixing with future military big shots. The school had a bunch of students from Latin America – sons of military and political leaders from Cuba, Venezuela, Colombia, and Panama. Being around all this probably got McClure interested in global politics and power plays.
McClure did well in school, too. He won awards for his grades, showing he had the brains to go far. It looked like the kid might follow in his family’s military footsteps and make something of himself.
First Taste of Military Life
Eager to be a soldier and maybe influenced by his family history, McClure tried to join the Marines just before he turned 16. He went through the infamous boot camp at Parris Island, a brutal experience that’s broken many older and tougher recruits.
But McClure’s military dreams hit a snag almost immediately. The Marines found out how young he really was and kicked him out for being underage. This setback would have crushed many kids, but McClure wasn’t about to give up.
The Military Merry-Go-Round
Over the next few years, McClure’s military career looked like a game of musical chairs:
- June 1955: He’s listed with the 99th Special Infantry Reserves
- November 2, 1955: Joins the Air Force
- December 9, 1955: Gets booted from the Air Force for being underage
- January 17, 1957: Enlists in the Army, joining the elite 82nd Airborne Division
This back-and-forth shows a young guy desperate to prove himself and find somewhere he belonged. The 82nd Airborne, known for being tough and elite, probably seemed like the perfect place for McClure to chase his dreams and find a purpose.
When Things Started to Go South
McClure’s time with the 82nd Airborne wasn’t smooth sailing. In 1958, he got busted for having drugs, a serious offense that could have ended his military career then and there. But the worst was yet to come.
After getting caught with the drugs, McClure decided to go AWOL (Absent Without Leave). Just like that, he went from being a soldier in trouble to a fugitive on the run from military police. The feds launched a manhunt to catch him, adding a dose of Hollywood-style drama to his growing list of problems.
Eventually, they caught up with McClure and dragged him back to face the music. On May 20, 1960, the Army finally had enough and discharged him. Just like that, his dreams of military glory went up in smoke.
The Nazi Phase
After getting kicked out of the Army, McClure was pretty much lost. All those dreams of military glory? Gone. And it’s in moments like these that people sometimes make crazy choices. For McClure, that meant diving headfirst back into the Nazi stuff his grandma had taught him as a kid.
By 1962, just two years after the Army showed him the door, John C. McClure popped up as a big shot in the American Nazi Party (ANP) in Arlington, Virginia. Talk about a career change – from military cadet to full-blown Nazi.
Why Go Nazi?
To get why McClure went off the deep end, we need to look at the perfect storm of stuff that messed with his head:
- He’d been fed Nazi ideas since he was a kid, thanks to grandma
- Growing up poor but seeing how the other half lived through his mom’s work
- Finding a sense of purpose in the military, then having it yanked away
- The humiliation of getting kicked out of the service and his legal troubles
The American Nazi Party probably looked pretty good to McClure at this point. It gave him a new identity, a new mission, and a way to stick it to the society and institutions he felt had kicked him to the curb.
Studying Under the Nazi Big Shot
In 1962, at 23 years old, McClure packed his bags and headed to Arlington, Virginia. His goal? To learn from George Lincoln Rockwell, the guy who started the American Nazi Party. Rockwell was a smooth talker who’d set up the ANP in 1959 and quickly became the poster boy for American neo-Nazis.
For McClure, Rockwell was like the dad he never had and a teacher rolled into one. The ANP, with its strict pecking order and extreme ideas, gave McClure the structure and purpose he’d been looking for in the military but never quite found.
Nazi by Night, Family Man by Day
Here’s where it gets weird. While McClure was playing Nazi dress-up, he was also trying to be a regular Joe. He’d gotten married young and had a family to support. To pay the bills, he worked as a house painter.
Picture this: McClure painting your living room by day, then heading out to Nazi meetings at night. It’s a stark reminder that the folks who fall for these extreme ideas aren’t always the outcasts you’d expect. Sometimes, they’re the guy next door living a double life.
Taking the Nazi Show on the Road
By 1963, McClure thought he was ready for the big leagues. He headed back to Florida, aiming to set up ANP branches in Miami and Jacksonville. In April ’63, he opened up shop in Room 504 of the old Pacific building at 327 NE 1st Ave in Miami. Get this – it was right across from the Federal building. Talk about poking the bear.
McClure’s to-do list for the Florida ANP was straight-up chilling:
- “Destroy the Communist Conspiracy and perpetuate the white race.” (Whatever that means)
- Ship African Americans back to Africa, teaming up with the Nation of Islam for “total segregation.”
- Come up with a “final solution for the Jews.” (Yep, he went there)
With goals like these, you can bet McClure wasn’t making many friends with the local authorities.
Stirring Up Trouble, Florida Style
McClure seemed to love the spotlight, always pulling stunts to get attention:
- He picketed JFK’s visit to Palm Beach, causing a security nightmare.
- In a real classy move, McClure and his Nazi buddies protested outside a Miami Beach hotel during an event celebrating Israel’s independence. They waved signs saying “Buy US Bonds, not Israeli Bonds” and “Death to Traitors.” This brilliant plan got McClure beaten up by some angry car hops and cab drivers.
- After a court appearance, a Holocaust survivor whose parents died in the camps slapped McClure across the face.
These shenanigans got McClure plenty of press. Some papers even started comparing him to Lee Harvey Oswald, hinting that he might be just as dangerous.
The Law Catches Up
McClure’s Nazi act didn’t go unchecked for long. The Miami City Attorney, Robert D. Zahner, launched a surprise raid on the Nazi HQ to try and shut them down.
In Jacksonville, McClure and two of his Nazi pals got arrested on April 28, 1963, for handing out anti-Semitic flyers. They were busted for breaking a state law that said you can’t pass out pamphlets trash-talking people or groups without putting your real name and address on them.
The trial came around on August 28, 1963. McClure got slapped with a $300 fine and a suspended sentence. The judge also told him to get out of Jacksonville and stay out.
From Nazi to Outlaw Biker: McClure’s Chameleon Act
After all that Nazi nonsense in Florida, McClure pulled a Houdini and disappeared. One minute he’s making headlines, the next – poof! Gone. Nobody knew where he went or what he was up to. It was like the earth swallowed him whole.
But here’s the thing about our boy John – he just couldn’t stay out of the spotlight.
The Many Faces of John McClure
Some researchers claim that by 1965, McClure was back in the Washington area, counter-protesting the anti-Vietnam war protests. Talk about a 180, huh? From Nazi to patriot in just a couple of years.
But wait, there’s more! Turns out, McClure was also moonlighting as a mechanic at Crossroads Cycle in Baileys Crossroads in the late sixties. Who knew our Nazi-turned-protester had a way with wrenches?
Meet “Big John” – The Biker
Fast forward to the mid-1960s, and guess who’s back? Our boy John, but with a whole new look. He’d traded in his Nazi uniform for a biker jacket, joining up with the Pagans Motorcycle Club.
Now, picture this: McClure wasn’t exactly built like a tank. He was 5’11” and only 140 pounds soaking wet. But somehow, he scored the nickname “Big John.” Go figure. He’d dyed his hair flaming red, grew a bushy beard, and got himself a “Born to Lose” tattoo. Real charming, right? But in the biker world, this scrawny redhead was apparently a big deal.
The Dupont Circle Incident
Here’s where things get really interesting. In 1967, the cops raided an apartment at 1629 19th St. NW in DC. What did they find? A real biker’s paradise – pot, a .30-caliber carbine, and a sawed-off shotgun with a bayonet attached. And guess who was inside? Yep, our boy John, along with a woman named Elizabeth Mechline.
When questioned, McClure identified himself as a member of the Pagans and former president of the Huns. For those not in the know, the Huns MC were a local club that patched over to the Pagans sometime in 1967. Talk about climbing the outlaw ladder!
So there you have it, folks. In just a few short years, John McClure went from Nazi leader to Vietnam War supporter, from motorcycle mechanic to outlaw biker president. If nothing else, you’ve got to admire the man’s ability to reinvent himself. It’s like he was playing costume roulette with his life choices.
The Night It All Went South
June 3, 1968. Remember that date, ’cause it’s when things went from bad to worse for ol’ John.
It all went down in a parking lot behind a drugstore in Georgetown, Washington D.C. A bunch of kids, including 18-year-old Thomas Williams, were out celebrating graduation. You know, burgers, laughs, the whole nine yards. Then another group shows up, and suddenly it’s like West Side Story – minus the singing and dancing.
A “Hippie” Encounter Gone Wrong
Now, here’s where things get fuzzy. The witnesses called McClure’s group “hippies” – which is rich, considering John’s Nazi past. But hey, he was trying on a new look. Anyway, what started as a brief encounter on Wisconsin Avenue quickly spiraled out of control.
Next thing you know, McClure’s in the parking lot yelling, “I’m going to shoot.” And wouldn’t you know it, he pulls out a gun from under his jacket and starts blasting. When the smoke cleared, Thomas Williams was dead, and another kid, David, was wounded.
Just like that, McClure went from biker bad boy to cold-blooded killer.
The Great Escape (Sort Of)
After the shooting, McClure hit the road faster than you can say “motorcycle.” The feds weren’t about to let this slide, though. They slapped his mug shot on the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted list.
But McClure’s time on the lam was shorter than a bad haircut. On June 25, just a day after making the Most Wanted list, they nabbed him in Providence, Rhode Island. The genius was trying to pick up some cash from Western Union. So much for being a criminal mastermind.
The Trial of the Century (Not Really)
Fast forward to 1970, and McClure’s finally getting his day in court. But this wasn’t your average trial. The courtroom was a powder keg, with McClure’s biker buddies making everyone nervous.
On day three, things got spicy. A friend of McClure’s, Earl “Moochie” Swicegood (a men’s hair stylist, of all things), allegedly threatened a witness with some finger guns. The judge slapped him with a contempt charge and a suspended 10-day sentence.
Plot Twist!
Just when everyone thought this trial was going to drag on forever, McClure threw a curveball. Instead of fighting the murder charge (and its 35 year possible sentence), he suddenly pleaded guilty to manslaughter, assault with intent to kill, and carrying a dangerous weapon.
Later, McClure tried to play it off like he was some kind of truth-seeker. He said, “I had hoped for a real trial, a search for the truth of the matter… was I guilty of a wrong act or was I protecting myself?” Nice try, John, but the witnesses weren’t buying what you were selling.
The Waiting Game
After McClure’s surprise guilty plea, Judge Leonard P. Walsh hit the pause button on sentencing. He wanted to get the lowdown from the probation department first.
Meanwhile, McClure had been cooling his heels in D.C. Jail since July 1968. Now he was looking at up to 35 years in the slammer. Talk about a fall from grace – from Nazi leader to biker outlaw to jailbird. McClure’s life was like a bad movie that just kept getting worse. (Continue by clicking the button below)
Source:
Link:
Internal Link: