THE PATIENT MAN

Nearly 60 years after a four-day mission in Vietnam nearly cost him his life, retired Marine Maj. James Capers Jr. finally received the nation’s highest military decoration.

From March 31 to April 3, 1967, then-2nd Lt. Capers led a nine-man Force Reconnaissance patrol known as Team Broadminded near Phu Loc, South Vietnam. Their mission was to locate a North Vietnamese regimental base camp and gather information to help protect other Marines operating nearby. During the patrol, the small team repeatedly encountered a much larger enemy force.

On the final day, the team came under a major attack. Capers suffered multiple...