Medal of Honor Winner or Not, Still a HeroIn losing his life on a mission for which he volunteered, Sgt. Rafael Peralta saved the lives of fellow Marines. On Nov. 15, 2004, in Fallujah, Iraq, Peralta led a squad to clear a house of insurgents. He was downed by a shot to the head, from the ricochet of a Marine bullet, and his body blocked squad members from the worst effects of a grenade flung by the insurgents. These Marines are adamant that a mortally wounded Peralta consciously pulled the grenade under his body. On their testimony and medical and forensic evidence, Peralta was nominated for the Medal of Honor, the nation's highest award for valor. Peralta will receive instead the second-highest award, the Navy Cross. A second panel of combat and medical experts concluded that his "nearly instantly fatal" head wound prevented "any meaningful motions." Five servicemen in Iraq and Afghanistan have received the Medal of Honor "for gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of their lives above and beyond the call of duty." Three died after deliberately shielding their fellow service members from grenades.
The Navy Cross, too, signifies valor. At the discretion of the secretary of the Navy, it is "awarded to a person who, while serving in any capacity with the Navy or Marine Corps, distinguishes himself/herself by extraordinary heroism ... (by an act) performed in the presence of great danger or at great personal risk." In a citation for Peralta's medal, Navy Secretary Donald Winter credits the eyewitnesses' account that Peralta grabbed and smothered the grenade "without hesitation and with complete disregard for his own safety." That rare epitaph reflects the dedication and courage that distinguished Sgt. Rafael Peralta, proud American, proud Marine. REPRINTED FROM THE SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE. DISTRIBUTED BY CREATORS SYNDICATE, INC.
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