To authorize the President to award the Medal of Honor to James Capers, Jr., for acts of valor as a member of the Marine Corps during the Vietnam War.
This bill, H.R. 3377, introduced in the 119th Congress, would authorize the President to award the Medal of Honor to James Capers, Jr. for acts of valor as a Marine during the Vietnam War. The award would be based on actions that occurred from March 31 to April 3, 1967, for which Capers had previously been awarded the Silver Star. The bill provides a statutory override of existing time limits on awarding medals, allowing the MOH to be conferred despite any standard deadlines in the relevant sections of title 10 of the United States Code. In short, the bill is a targeted, retroactive authorization to upgrade Capers’ recognition from Silver Star to the Medal of Honor. The bill also notes that the Medal of Honor would be awarded under the authority found in 10 U.S.C. § 8291, and it explicitly allows the President to make this award notwithstanding other time limitations that would normally prevent such an award.
Key Points
- 1Targeted authorization: The President is empowered to award the Medal of Honor to James Capers, Jr. for specific acts of valor while serving in the Marine Corps during the Vietnam War.
- 2Time-limit override: The bill states that the usual time limitations for awarding medals (as laid out in 10 U.S.C. §§ 8298(a), 8300, or other time limits) are not applicable in Capers’ case.
- 3Basis for award: The acts of valor occurred from March 31 to April 3, 1967, and Capers had previously received the Silver Star for those actions.
- 4Legal mechanism: The Medal of Honor would be awarded under 10 U.S.C. § 8291.
- 5Legislative status: The bill was introduced in the House (May 13, 2025) and referred to the Committee on Armed Services; sponsor listed as Mr. Norman.