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Mike Drop

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

Mike Drop

Mike Ritland

Politics, Society & Culture, News, Personal Journals

4.96.5K Ratings

🗓️ 12 June 2026

⏱️ 48 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

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 MENCheck out Particle’s Face Cream here: https://particleformen.co/mikedrop and use my code MIKEDROP for a 20% discount sitewide AMERICAN FINANCING NMLS #182334 nmlsconsumeraccess.org. APR for rates in the 5s start at 6.327% for well qualified borrowers. Call 866-891-3262 for details about credit, costs and terms. Visit https://AmericanFinancing.net/MikeDrop. Average savings based on borrowers who save over $199.99 BETTER HELP Sign up and get 10% off at https://www.betterhelp.com/mikedrop/ BEAM Here’s the deal: Beam is giving my listeners the ultimate patriot discount of UP TO 40% off. Try their best‑selling Dream Powder and get UP TO 40% off for a limited time. Go to https://shopbeam.com/products/dream-powder-4?variant=41387075567671&selling_plan=1794441271&utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=sponsorship&utm_campaign=mikedrop&code=applied15&discount=MIKEDROP and use code MIKEDROP at checkout. NAVY SEALS FITNESS APP | HYBRID STRENGTH & CONDITIONING TRAINING Train like a SEAL with Mike Ritland's App. Build real-world strength, endurance and resilience. https://www.coachos-app.com/navy-seals TEAM DOG FOOD, TREATS & SUPPLEMENTS Be Your Dog’s Hero: Veteran-owned by a former Navy SEAL and Special Operations K9 Trainer, Team Dog provides a complete diet of science-backed premium dog food, treats, and supplements to optimize your dog’s health, forged from rigorous standards and real-world expertise. https://www.teamdog.shop TEAM DOG ONLINE TRAINING Mike Ritland – a former Navy SEAL & Special Operations K9 trainer – shares his simple and effective dog training program to build trust and control with your dog. Based on Mike’s bestselling book “Team Dog, Train the Navy SEAL Way”, join tens of thousands of families that successfully trained their way to a better dog. https://www.teamdog.pet SHOP ALL THE MIKE RITLAND BRANDS Get all your Mike Ritland branded gear - Mike Drop | Trikos | Team Dog https://shop.mikeritland.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

Spotify, it's Jay Shetty.

0:01.7

Are you one of those media strategy people?

0:04.3

Scrolling through spreadsheets,

0:05.8

searching for an audience that pays twice as much attention

0:08.8

to your ads than they do on social?

0:11.3

Let me introduce you to fans.

0:13.6

And they're here with me on Spotify.

0:16.2

Trust me, I know fans.

0:18.1

They don't skip, They stay for hours.

0:21.8

They don't move on.

0:22.6

They manifest.

0:24.8

They're not a demographic group.

0:25.8

They're fans.

0:28.1

Spotify advertising.

0:29.6

You're among fans.

0:34.8

From the, I guess from the scope of your time in Vietnam, you mentioned Bullock and Kaysan.

0:36.3

Were there other areas that you spent a fair bit of time?

0:40.4

Yeah.

0:41.5

Nissan, O'Lock, a lot of different places that we went in, we dropped, they would drop us behind enemy lines for four or five days.

0:56.1

And then we were ambushed and their soldiers.

0:59.7

We'd kill them all.

1:01.9

We knew how to do that.

...

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