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The mother of the late Sgt. Rafael Peralta, Rosa Peralta, said she may reject the new medal, the military plans to award to her son for valor. The office of Secretary of Defense Robert Gates downgraded the award after a special investigation involving medical experts, a military general and a Medal of Honor recipient from a past war.
Sgt. Rafael Peralta was a San Diego Marine sergeant singled out by President Bush for throwing his body on a grenade to save his comrades in Iraq. He was posthumously nominated for the nation’s highest military honor, the Medal of Honor. Sgt. Rafael Peralta epitomized what it means to be a Marine and what it means to be an American. He joined the Marine Corps the day after he received his green card and became a U.S. Citizen while in uniform. In his parent’s home, on his bedroom walls hung only three items: the United States Constitution, the Bill of Rights and his boot camp graduation certificate. Before he set out for Fallujah, he wrote to his 14-year old brother, "be proud of me, bro…and be proud of being an American."
Rosa Peralta, friends and family are upset over the Pentagon’s decided to issue the Navy Cross rather than the Medal of Honor. Rosa Peralta said a general told her that her son’s nomination was tainted because he had been first shot in the face and torso by friendly fire.
“There is conflicting evidence whether he performed the acts deliberately,” said Navy Capt. Beci Brenton, a spokeswoman for Navy Secretary Donald Winter. But the Navy Cross citation characterized Peralta’s actions as intentional.
Peralta’s mother wonders whether military officials denied him the top award because he is Hispanic. Peralta was born on April 7, 1979 in Mexico City. Son of Rafael and Rosa Peralta, the oldest of four siblings Icelda, Karen and Ricardo. Sgt. Rafael Peralta was a naturalized United States citizen. His mother, Rosa, and his sister Icela recently became U.S. citizens.
From left to right: Cpl. Saldivar Lopez, Sgt. Rafael Peralta, and Cpl. Eddie Rodriguez.
“Everyone thought he would get the Medal of Honor. I think he earned it. All his fellow Marines said they felt he earned it,” Rosa Peralta said yesterday evening.
President Bush had praised Peralta’s valor in a speech, and his story was featured in a documentary.
Peralta fell on Nov. 15, 2004, after being shot during a firefight inside a house during the second battle of Fallujah.
Insurgents threw a grenade that landed next to him as he lay on the floor. Peralta, 25, scooped up the grenade and hugged it to his chest “without hesitation and with complete disregard for his own safety,” the Navy Cross citation says.
The action saved the lives of several Marines standing a few feet away, Marine Corps officials said.
Yesterday, Capt. Beci Brenton said military leaders reviewed Peralta’s file meticulously.
Brenton said emphatically that neither the friendly fire nor Peralta’s Mexican citizenship played a role in the decision.
“Absolutely not,” she said.
This was the first time the Pentagon has publicly acknowledged Peralta was hit in crossfire between Marines and insurgents.
Numerous soldiers and Marines have received the Medal of Honor after covering grenades. That includes three of the five Medal of Honor recipients in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars: Army Pfc. Ross McGinnis, Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Michael Monsoor and Marine Cpl. Jason Dunham.
As the investigation into Peralta’s combat heroism dragged on for nearly four years, there was widespread feeling among Marines and veterans that Peralta deserved the Medal of Honor, too.
Robert Reynolds, a former Marine who credits Peralta with saving his life in the Fallujah house, said the Pentagon’s decision insults his honor.
“I feel like the Navy Cross is a cop-out,” said Reynolds, 31, of Ritzville, Wash. “I was 5 meters away. I saw what happened. I feel like they’re calling me a liar.”
Former Marine officer Tom Richards is disappointed that Peralta didn’t receive the highest combat distinction. He is national president of the Legion of Valor, and he was awarded the Navy Cross in the Vietnam War.
Richards is among many veterans who have criticized the Pentagon for awarding so few Medals of Honor – the purpose of which, he said, is to inspire other service members.
“Like many of us, I’m wondering why the Department of Defense is so stingy with medals in these conflicts,” said Richards, who lives in Rancho Bernardo. “(Peralta) died of his wounds, and clearly what he did was heroic.”
A group of Marine commanders, led by Lt. Gen. Richard Natonski, briefed the Peralta family on the Pentagon’s decision yesterday at Camp Pendleton.
“We’ve waited three and a half, four years for this,” said David Donald of San Diego, Peralta’s brother-in-law, who attended the session. “It’s just kind of a slap in the face.”
Former Marine George Sabga, a lawyer and friend of the Peralta family, also went to the briefing. He said leaders of the Marine Corps and U.S. Central Command agreed that Peralta’s heroism merited the Medal of Honor.
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One would think that a LIFELESS or USELESS award is the least that the Pentagon could do in exchange for the life of a young man that honors his country – while fighting a senseless war!
The action of Sgt. Peralta was that of a true leader, an action that is reflective in the Semper Fidelis’ Motto: “Always Faithful.”
Faithful to the Marines and the United States of America.
Semper Fi!
Respectfully,
Sergeant Weis K. Jackson USMC
I think everyone should contact the Defense Department and give them a piece of your minds. I already did.
Go to their website & leave a comment for Robert Gates. Let him know that he is hurting the moral of the country and he is dishonoring a true American Hero. Regardless if he was already shot and possibly dying, he died not thinking of himself. He died thinking of others -trying to save the lives of his fellow Marines. This should count for something more than a second rate “prize”. He deserves the Medal of Honor!
http://www.defenselink.mil/faq/questions.aspx
It seems as if the Pentagon and the U.S. Government are saying “get killed by friendly fire and get a lesser aware but get killed by the enemy and get a much higher aware – the Medal of Honor.”