It’s been nearly 60 years since retired Marine Maj. James Capers Jr. led a nine-man reconnaissance team out of a horrific ambush in Vietnam despite being shot twice, suffering 17 shrapnel wounds, on top of a string of other injuries. Twice, Capers tried to lighten the load of a helicopter carrying his teammates by insisting they leave him behind, only for his men to pull him back inside.
Now, 133 retired senior enlisted leaders are urging President Donald Trump to press Congress to pass a law that would allow Capers to finally receive the Medal of Honor. The top enlisted leaders added their names to the letter to the president written by retired Marine Sgt. Maj. Bryan Battaglia.
“Awarding Major Capers the MoH is not just about honoring one Warrior — it’s about standing up for every Warrior,” wrote Battaglia, who served as Senior Enlisted Advisor to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from 2011 to 2015.
In the Aug. 4 letter, Battaglia and the other senior enlisted leaders asked Trump to press lawmakers to approve a bill introduced by Rep. Ralph Norman (R-S.C.) that would authorize Trump to award Capers the Medal of Honor by waiving a requirement that service members receive the medal within five years of their heroic actions.
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