Ralph Norman

BISHOPVILLE — It’s been seven decades, but the wait is almost over for retired Marine Maj. James Capers.

President Donald Trump signed the legislation to present the Bishopville native the Medal of Honor, according to U.S. Rep. Ralph Norman’s office.

“Today, we right a decades-long wrong and honor a warrior who embodies the very best of America,” Norman, R-Rock Hill, said March 27. Capers “risked everything while gravely wounded to save his fellow Marines. Our veterans are the heart and soul of our nation, with Major Capers’ selflessness representing the highest ideals of our Armed Forces. And he deserves to be properly recognized.”

The Medal of Honor is the country's highest honor for military valor in action. Other heroic feats are recognized with the Silver and Bronze Stars. Capers was initially given a Bronze Star for his actions in Vietnam, then military leaders upgraded it to Silver.

No date has been scheduled for Capers to receive the Medal of Honor.

In February, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill, H.R. 3377, authorizing the president to grant that medal to Capers, a Vietnam War soldier who now resides in North Carolina. The bill specifies Capers’ service in Vietnam from March 31 through April 3, 1967, for the medal.

Reports show that ranking officers had recommended Capers for the top honor, but Capers, now in his late 80s, never received it.

During an ambush in Vietnam, Capers sustained severe wounds but refused to be evacuated, continuing to lead his Marines under intense enemy fire and ensuring the survival of his entire team, officials said.

Accounts of the time indicate Capers and his reconnaissance force were ambushed by a numerically superior enemy force.

"The attack … inflicted devastating injuries on all eight Marines and killed their war dog, King,” one report states. “Despite sustaining severe shrapnel wounds, which ripped open his abdomen and broke his leg, Capers took control, halting the enemy's advance and directing air, artillery and mortar strikes dangerously close to his position."

Norman, whose district includes Lee County where Bishopville is located, has spearheaded the effort on Capitol Hill to get Capers the medal for the last seven years. The Feb. 3 vote for H.R. 3377 provided a waiver of the five-year limitation on a nominee for the medal to be granted by the president.

The U.S. Senate followed the House with its version of the bill, sponsored by both South Carolina senators, Republicans Lindsay Graham and Tim Scott. That passed on March 3.

In 2018, Capers teamed with writer Buz Sawyers for his autobiography, "Faith Through the Storm." Though it is largely the tale of his military time, Capers said he was compelled to write it based on his ordeals at home.

Several of his siblings died in their youth as he was growing up in Bishopville. And before the book was published, his wife, Dottie Capers, died from cancer, and his son, Gary, died from appendicitis.