A historic moment at the White House for an Eastern North Carolina legend. President Donald Trump has awarded the Medal of Honor to retired Marine Corps Major James Capers Junior.
During the East Room ceremony, President Trump noted how Capers broke barriers during the Vietnam War. “In Vietnam, the Corps promoted him from Staff Sergeant directly to Second Lieutenant Unusual, making Jim the first black Marine in history to receive a battlefield commission in the middle of a war.”
Capers received the nation's highest military honor for his bravery during a battle in Vietnam. “Over the course of four days under Jim's leadership, Team Broad-Minded repulsed brutal attacks, as brutal as they've ever seen, cleared trails of bloody traps and killed more than 200 of the enemy," Trump said, "The enemy was going down quickly.”
While presenting the award, President Trump spoke directly to the 88-year-old veteran about the brutal ambush. “Explosions shredded the air, sending Jim into a tree, ripping open his abdomen and breaking his leg. Badly, badly broken leg. Shrapnel peppered his body in 17 places," Trump said, "I hope this isn't giving you some bad memories, Jim, but I'll tell you, everybody admires you what you went through, believe me.”
Capers successfully guided his entire nine-man reconnaissance unit to safety despite his catastrophic injuries. Congress had to pass a special waiver to clear the way for the overdue honor.
Two other combat veterans also received the nation’s highest military honor Thursday: the late Marine Colonel John W. Ripley, and Army Major Nicholas Dockery.
