Major James Capers Jr., a Bishopville native, has been awarded the Medal of Honor, the nation’s highest military award. President Donald Trump presented the honor to Capers and two other service members during a ceremony recognizing battlefield heroism.
Capers served in the U.S. Marine Corps during the Vietnam War. As a second lieutenant, he led a nine-person reconnaissance patrol. During combat, he was wounded by gunfire and shrapnel but continued leading his team under fire.
Capers was the first African American to receive a battlefield commission. He is credited with completing dozens of long-range reconnaissance patrols and multiple combat campaigns during the war.
According to his biography, Capers was born in 1937 in Bishopville to sharecroppers during the Jim Crow era, Capers later moved to Baltimore, Maryland, where he enlisted in the Marines. He went on to serve in the Force Recon unit, where he broke training records and participated in 64 reconnaissance patrols and five major Vietnam campaigns.
His service included missions such as search-and-destroy operations and other classified Cold War assignments following the Vietnam War. His military awards include the Silver Star, two Bronze Stars, three Purple Hearts, and the Navy Commendation Medal, among others.
South Carolina U.S. Congressman Ralph Norman said he helped lead efforts in Congress to secure the recognition. He called Capers’ actions “a true testament to American courage” and said the honor is “long overdue.”