Braxton Taylor
Nearly 50 lawmakers wrote a letter to President Donald Trump last week urging him to award the Medal of Honor to a Marine veteran for his heroic actions during the Vietnam War, according to a copy of the correspondence obtained by Military.com.
The push to honor retired Marine Maj. James Capers Jr., 87, has been ongoing for more than a decade, including legislation introduced by lawmakers as recently as January 2023, but to no avail so far. The latest letter, which was sent to the president Feb. 12, marks a significant effort to make the award a reality, with 47 lawmakers from both chambers of Congress, including two Democrats, making the request.
The letter comes a month after Military.com reported that nearly two dozen Republican lawmakers admonished the service academies for not allowing a pamphlet that lauded Capers’ accomplishments to be handed out at the Army-Navy game last December, stating that they were “deeply troubled” by West Point and the Naval Academy’s decision to dismiss what “would have been a fitting tribute to his legacy and contributions.”
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The letter sent last week to the White House recounted Capers’ accomplishments, which include being the first Black man both to lead a Marine Reconnaissance company and to receive a battlefield commission, accolades confirmed by the Marine Corps.
It also detailed his bravery during Vietnam in the early spring of 1967 when, despite being severely wounded, Capers quelled a numerically superior enemy force before ushering his team to safety, prioritizing their evacuation over his own.
“We firmly believe that Maj. James Capers Jr. has met the stringent criteria for the Medal of Honor,” the letter said. “His selfless actions, leadership, courage and initiative uphold the highest traditions of the United States armed forces.”
Capers was initially awarded the Bronze Star, according to the letter, before it was upgraded to the Silver Star, which he received in 2010. Capers also earned two Bronze Stars with “V” devices for valor and three Purple Hearts, among other awards, leading the Marine Corps to call him “one of the most decorated Marines in Force Reconnaissance history.”
On the last day of his nine-man patrol on the outskirts of Phu Loc, Vietnam, then-2nd Lt. Capers led the specialized “Team Broadminded” through jungle trails they had previously cleared, “a decision he deemed ill-conceived and dangerous but was forced to follow,” the letter said.
His team was ambushed, and Capers was severely wounded, at one point needing morphine to cope with “extreme loss of blood,” according to his Silver Star citation. Capers stopped the enemy advance by calling in air support, artillery and mortar strikes close to his own position, the letter said.
Capers ordered some of his Marines to a landing zone for evacuation while he and two other troops continued to fight, according to the letter.
“When the enemy attacked again, Capers returned to the fight despite the corpsman’s attempts to restrain him, holding off the enemy with his rifle until his rounds were exhausted and then with his pistol,” the letter said. Despite being on the cusp of unconsciousness, Capers kept situational awareness of the fight and ensured his Marines boarded the helicopter for evacuation before himself.
The letter from the lawmakers said that Capers was born into poverty during the “Jim Crow” era and “overcame incredible adversity and systemic barriers to become a pioneer in the United States Marine Corps.”
It also noted his iconic appearance in one of the Marine Corps’ most successful recruiting campaigns called “Ask a Marine.” Featuring in the advertisements helped solidify his status as a service legend.
Rep. Ralph Norman, a Republican from Capers’ home state of South Carolina, recommended Capers for the Medal of Honor in 2023 legislation, but it did not pass. Norman was the primary signatory on the letter to the president last week, as well as the letter to the service academies rebuking their decision about the Army-Navy game pamphlet.
A spokesperson for Norman’s office confirmed that Congress sent the president the letter last week, but added that it has not received a response from the White House. The White House did not respond to Military.com’s inquiries by publication time.
A key group involved in the effort to get Capers recognized for the nation’s highest military award is United American Patriots, or UAP, a nonprofit that has backed service members convicted or sentenced for war crimes, among other cases it believes were wrongly tried or determined.
UAP organized and paid for the rejected pamphlets at the Army-Navy game. The academies declined to comment on Military.com’s inquiries last month regarding the ad, including whether the association with UAP was a factor in the rejection.
The academy superintendents sent a return letter to Congress stating, in part, that they had opted to “[maintain] the military-themed submissions from long-standing corporate sponsors and service organization partners,” which included Lexus; Bob’s Furniture; and Veterans Moving Forward Inc., a service dog nonprofit, according to screenshots of advertisements provided by UAP.
The CEO of UAP, retired Marine Lt. Col. David “Bull” Gurfein, sent the most recent letter from the lawmakers to Military.com on Sunday. He said that the nonprofit also sent separate letters about Capers to the president; Vice President JD Vance, a Marine veteran; and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, an Army veteran.
“Maj. Capers is a trailblazer, a hero, and a symbol of the enduring principles of service and sacrifice,” the letter from lawmakers said. “His story of triumph over adversity and unyielding dedication to his country continues to resonate with generations of Americans. Tragically, despite these remarkable achievements, Maj. Capers has yet to receive the Medal of Honor.”
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