Declared Dead in Vietnam: Major Capers on Faith, Loss, and Coming Home | Ep. 295 | Pt. 3

Declared Dead in Vietnam: Major Capers on Faith, Loss, and Coming Home | Ep. 295 | Pt. 3

From Mike Drop by Mike Ritland

June 12, 2026 · 48 min

About this episode

Major James Capers shares his harrowing experiences during and after the Vietnam War, including survival and reflections on his service.

Major James Capers spent years after Vietnam running ambushes behind enemy lines, surviving an assassination attempt in Hamburg, and serving as a bodyguard to President Nixon before a general sent him home after receiving intelligence that his wife and son would be killed on a Saturday morning. But the moment that defines this episode happened after his bloodiest mission — when he was loaded onto a helicopter with his wounded men and his dead dog King, flown through a storm, and placed in a hallway with the bodies. Someone walked by and said this one is dead. Then another person stopped, looked closer, and said this one is breathing. They pulled him out and brought him back to the operating room. In this episode, Major Capers closes out his story — the ambushes, the training mission loss that made him retire, and what he believes about the country he fought for and would fight for again. Support Major James Capers https://www.instagram.com/major_james_capers_jr/ https://www.capersthedoc.com/ https://www.facebook.com/p/Major-James-Capers-Jr-100040737672030/ https://www.pritzkermilitary.org/whats_on/holt-oral-history-program/james-capers-jr-major ---------- SPONSORS PARTICLE FOR…

People in this episode

Host: Mike Ritland

Guest: Major James Capers

Topics covered

Keywords

Sponsors

Particle, American Financing

Mentioned in this episode

Places: Vietnam, Hamburg, United States

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