James Capers was born on August 25, 1937 in South Carolina to a family of sharecroppers during the Jim Crow era, later moved to Baltimore, met Dottie Lee, and enlisted in the Marines, beginning a career that overcame obstacles and broke barriers on and off the battlefield. Selected for the elite Force Recon Marine unit, he broke training records and took part in 64 long range reconnaissance patrols and five major campaigns in Vietnam. As a natural leader and father figure to Team Broadminded, a specialized group of Force Recon Marines, he and his team were routinely chosen for some of the most dangerous and clandestine missions in Vietnam, including a POW rescue ordered by President Johnson, amphibious assaults in the DMZ, recovery of a B-57 rumored to have a nuclear bomb, and search and destroy patrols in Phu Loc. His achievements included becoming the first African-American to command a Marine Recon company and the first to receive a battlefield commission. In the fall of 1967, while still recovering from combat injuries, Major James Capers was chosen to represent the U.S. Marines in a national recruiting campaign, and with full integration completed only in 1960, his image became the Marine Corps most popular recruitment campaign. After Vietnam, he participated in many Cold War covert operations as a field agent in Eastern Europe and Africa, though details remain classified. Nominated for the Medal of Honor, he received the Silver Star, two Bronze Stars and Combat V, three Purple Hearts, the Vietnam Cross of Gallantry, a Joint Service Commendation Medal, Combat Action Ribbon, three Good Conduct Ribbons, Battle Stars, Navy Commendation Medal, Navy Achievement Medal, a CG Certificate of Merit, and multiple letters of Merit, Appreciation, and Commendation. His son Gary died in 2003 and his wife Dottie in 2009, and both are buried in Arlington National Cemetery. In 2010, Major James Capers Jr. was one of only 14 members inducted into the inaugural class of U.S. Special Operations Command's Commando Hall of Honor at a ceremony at MacDill Air Force Base, and he is recognized as a pioneer in Recon training tactics still used by Special Operations forces around the world.