Trump presents Medal of Honor to 3 military veterans who demonstrated extraordinary valor during Vietnam and Afghanistan wars
OAN Staff Brooke Mallory
4:20 PM – Thursday, June 18, 2026
In an afternoon ceremony at the White House on Thursday, President Donald Trump presented the Medal of Honor to three military veterans who demonstrated extraordinary valor under fire during the conflicts in Vietnam and Afghanistan.
The presentation follows the passage of the National Defense Authorization Act earlier this year, in which Congress included specific legislative waivers clearing the way for the upgrades of their previous combat decorations by waiving the standard five-year statutory time limit.
The recipients included retired Marine Corps Major James Capers Jr., retired Army Major Nicholas Dockery, and the late Marine Corps Colonel John W. Ripley, whose family accepted the nation’s highest military award for valor on his behalf.
Retired Marine Corps Major James Capers, Jr.
Retired Marine Corps Major James Capers Jr., an 88-year-old pioneer within the Marine Special Operations community, was recognized for his leadership during a four-day mission in South Vietnam spanning March 31st to April 3, 1967.
Then a second lieutenant leading a nine-man team with the 3d Force Reconnaissance Company, Capers was tasked with locating a North Vietnamese regimental base camp. Despite repeatedly engaging enemy forces that were larger in numbers, Capers tenaciously pressed forward, successfully directing fire that thwarted an impending assault on a nearby Marine battalion.
On the final day, his patrol was caught in a devastating ambush initiated by a claymore mine, leaving Capers with multiple severe wounds and massive blood loss. After being administered morphine for the agonizing pain, he continued to direct his team’s defensive perimeter and coordinate supporting fire. Capers also refused medical evacuation until every member of his team, and the body of their fallen military working dog, were safely aboard the extraction helicopter.
Marine Corps Colonel John W. Ripley – R.I.P.
The late Marine Corps Colonel John W. Ripley was honored posthumously for a legendary feat of bravery that has been revered within military lore for decades, according to the Department of War. On April 2, 1972, then-Captain Ripley was serving as the Senior Marine Advisor to the Third Vietnamese Marine Corps Infantry Battalion during North Vietnam’s massive Easter Offensive.
Facing an onslaught of 20,000 enemy troops and 200 tanks, and operating under explicit orders to “hold and die,” Ripley recognized that the enemy’s mechanized advance depended on capturing a bridge in the village of Dong Ha.
For more than three hours, Ripley dangled by his hands beneath the bridge, braving a relentless barrage of enemy sniper and machine-gun fire to manually emplace over 500 pounds of explosives along the steel I-beam girders.
Shaking off extreme physical exhaustion, he successfully detonated the charges just minutes before the enemy could cross, completely destroying the bridge and saving an untold number of lives. Colonel Ripley passed away in 2008, leaving behind a legacy that continues to inspire generations of service members.
Retired Army Major Nicholas Dockery
Representing the post-9/11 generation of combat heroes, retired Army Major Nicholas Dockery received the Medal of Honor for conspicuous gallantry during a fierce engagement in Kapisa Province, Afghanistan, on October 2, 2012.
Then a second lieutenant and rifle platoon leader with the 2d Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Division, Dockery and his men were ambushed by a heavily armed Taliban force in highly restricted urban terrain.
Over the course of a four-hour battle, Dockery repeatedly crossed open ground under intense machine-gun fire to reinforce isolated positions. When an enemy fragmentation grenade was thrown toward his element, Dockery used his own body to shield a fellow soldier from the blast.
Moments later, noticing a missing noncommissioned officer, Dockery fought his way into a courtyard and single-handedly rescued the unconscious soldier as two Taliban fighters were attempting to drag him away. After administering lifesaving aid, Dockery scaled a rooftop to coordinate rotary-wing air support, successfully suppressing subsequent enemy counterattacks while his platoon evacuated the wounded.
All three men will be permanently etched into American military history tomorrow morning when they are officially inducted into the Pentagon’s Hall of Heroes, the White House stated.
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