The U.S. Naval Academy and West Point rejected an advertisement intended for the Army–Navy game last month that featured a Marine whom supporters believe should receive the Medal of Honor, a tribute that could have raised significant awareness of his heroic actions, his advocates said.
The ad, which lauded the life and bravery of retired Marine Maj. James Capers Jr., was sponsored by a group that has backed service members convicted or sentenced for war crimes, among other cases it believes were wrongfully tried or determined.
The academies declined to comment on the refusal to Military.com, but the move drew the attention of 23 Republican lawmakers who signed a letter addressed to the superintendents of the military academies, stating that they were “deeply troubled” by the decision to dismiss it.
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“Major Capers, a distinguished Marine veteran and Medal of Honor nominee, embodies the values of courage, dedication and sacrifice that our service academies strive to instill in their cadets and midshipmen,” the Dec. 10 letter from lawmakers said. “Recognizing him in the commemorative program for such a historic event would have been a fitting tribute to his legacy and contributions.”
The academies responded to the lawmakers with a joint letter the next day praising the “merits” in the advertisement. But they cited “strict page constraints and its departure from standard program materials” as factors in the rejection, according to the document.
When asked, the academies declined to comment on how the ad was a digression from its usual promotions, but acknowledged the authenticity of the letter.
The Army-Navy game on Dec. 14 marked the 125th anniversary of the blockbuster event, occurring three days after the response from the superintendents — enough time, critics contend, to include a tribute to Capers or invite him to be recognized.
Despite the lawmakers asking for other ways to “recognize this American hero at the game,” the response letter from the academies said they would not offer an alternative to “properly honor” Capers and that all of the event’s processions were finalized.
“Instead, we maintained the military-themed submissions from long-standing corporate sponsors and service organization partners,” said the letter, which was signed by the superintendents of the academies, Lt. Gen. Steven Gilland and Vice Adm. Yvette Davids.
Capers, now 87 years old and “one of the most decorated Marines in Force Reconnaissance history,” according to the Marine Corps, earned the Silver Star, two Bronze Stars with a “V” device for valor, and three Purple Hearts, among a bevy of other awards. He was also the first Black Marine to command a force reconnaissance company and to receive a battlefield commission, according to the service.
In 1967, on the last day of his nine-man patrol near Phu Loc, Vietnam, and after thwarting an attack from a numerically superior enemy, then-2nd Lt. Capers was severely wounded, at one point needing morphine to cope with his “extreme loss of blood,” his Silver Star citation said. He continued the fight, leading his team to a helicopter extraction site and refusing to board until his Marines could take off first.
“While struggling to maintain consciousness and still under attack, Maj. Capers demanded continuous situation and status reports from his Marines and ensured the entire team was evacuated before himself,” according to the citation. “Barely able to stand, Maj. Capers finally boarded the helicopter and was evacuated.”
Retired Marine Lt. Col. David “Bull” Gurfein is the CEO of United American Patriots, or UAP, the nonprofit sponsor of the advertisement that supports and funds legal defense for service members it says were unfairly accused of war crimes.
He acknowledged that Capers is different compared to the organization’s other beneficiaries, which include former Staff Sgt. Robert Bales, a soldier who pleaded guilty to killing 16 Afghan civilians in 2012 to avoid the death penalty, resulting in life in prison without parole. Despite filing a petition for pardon and Gurfein’s push to rectify what he said was a loaded trial, Bales remains incarcerated at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.
Neither the letter from Congress nor the academies mentioned UAP or the other cases. Gurfein said that the organization was willing to modify the ad, including — if asked — removing the UAP logo and QR code leading to the group’s website if it meant that the promotion could still feature Capers, but “nobody once came back and said, ‘Remove the link.'”
The academies declined to say whether the association with UAP in the ad was a factor in their decision to exclude it. But if it was, Gurfein said that he would have “respect[ed] them at least taking that position and being bold enough” to do so.
He criticized their “lack of action” and “their hiding” in the dismissal of the ad and subsequent response as “setting a horrible example.”
Gurfein said that he had hoped the inclusion of the advertisement would not only bring public attention to Capers’ accomplishments, but also catch the eyes of President-elect Donald Trump; Vice President-elect J.D. Vance, who is a Marine veteran; and Elon Musk, who all attended the game last month.
He said that UAP submitted an advertisement featuring Capers nearly three weeks before the game and that it was accepted by the publisher. The original ad, however, was later deemed “inappropriate” and “too controversial” by the academies, according to Gurfein, so the organization removed allusions to Capers having not yet received the Medal of Honor.
The original ad included the line: “For some unknown reason, Capers still has not received the Medal of Honor” and “Capers is 87 years old. He deserves to be recognized while he is still alive,” according to a draft ad provided by Gurfein. Both ads included a QR link to UAP’s website, specifically to a biography about Capers. UAP raised $10,000 for the ad, Gurfein said.
The academies also did not comment on the advertisements they ultimately chose to run, which included spots for Disabled American Veterans; Sandia National Laboratories, a research and development lab; Veterans Moving Forward Inc., a service dog nonprofit; and Williams Companies, a clean energy organization, according to pictures of the ads provided by Gurfein.
According to UAP, Capers was nominated for the Medal of Honor in 2008, but the military “downgraded” the award to the Silver Star, which he did not receive until 2010, decades after the 1967 combat took place.
Rep. Ralph Norman, a Republican from Capers’ home state of South Carolina, recommended Capers for the military’s highest honor last year. He was the primary signatory of the letter to the academies and was addressed in the return letter from the superintendents.
“Rep. Norman is disappointed that the advertisement was not accepted for the Army-Navy game, but he plans to continue to pursue all possible avenues to ensure Maj. Capers receives the recognition that he absolutely deserves,” a spokesperson for the congressman, Annie Butler, told Military.com in an emailed statement Friday.
The advertisement highlighted Capers’ valorous combat actions and said that he overcame poverty during the “Jim Crow” era in South Carolina, breaking barriers as a Black Marine. It also referenced his promotion in “one of the Marine Corps’ most successful recruiting campaigns: ‘Ask a Marine,'” which starred Capers and helped solidify him as a service icon.
Gurfein said that he met Capers a few years ago and wanted the organization to take on the case because he was “just amazed that he had not been recognized” for his heroism and was struck by what he recounted as the Marine declining to blame systemic racism for not receiving the Medal of Honor.
“He looks at himself as an individual, and that’s what made him so interesting, is that he wasn’t playing identity politics,” Gurfein said. “This is where I really align with his ethics, his integrity and, obviously, his heroism.”
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