OFF THE WIRE
North County Times |
Sgt. Rafael Peralta was killed in Iraq in 2004 and received the Navy Cross for heroism. Courtesy photo
Several members of Congress are renewing a call for U.S. Marine Sgt. Rafael Peralta to receive the Medal of Honor, weeks after successfully having a Navy ship named for him.
Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-El Cajon and a former Marine, contends that Peralta is deserving of the nation's highest award for valor for reaching for a grenade and covering it with his body during a 2004 fight with insurgents in Iraq.
A San Diego native, Peralta was nominated by the Marine Corps for the Medal of Honor. But former Defense Secretary Robert Gates awarded him a Navy Cross instead after a special panel said it could not say for certain that Peralta's actions were deliberate.
Fellow Marines inside the house where the fighting took place said they saw Peralta reach for the grenade and pull it to his body, after he had suffered a severe head wound.
Hunter, California Sens. Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer, and San Diego County Reps. Brian Bilbray, Bob Filner, Darrell Issa and Susan Davis all signed a letter to Navy Secretary Ray Mabus asking that he reconsider Peralta's case.
The lawmakers also contend that a previously unreleased review of the forensic report of Peralta's death shows that his act was deliberate and therefore deserving of the higher military honor.
That opinion was issued in January 2010 by forensic pathologist Dr. Vincent Di Maio, a former medical examiner for San Antonio, Texas, with more than four decades of experience.
"Taking into account the circumstances surrounding the incident: the statements of the witnesses; the condition of the body armor; the autopsy findings; the opinion of the neurosurgeons and neurologist and my own experience with head wounds, it is my opinion that, in all medical probability, Sgt. Peralta was not immediately incapacitated by the brain injury, and in fact reached for the grenade and pulled it under his body," Di Maio wrote in the report requested by Peralta family supporters.
Hunter said in a statement Wednesday that report contradicts the original Defense Department conclusion, as do seven witness accounts of Peralta's act.
"The burden should not be on the Navy or Marine Corps to prove that Sgt. Peralta did what the evidence and witness accounts say he did," Hunter said. "The responsibility for correcting this mistake rests with the Secretary of Defense, who is in the position to ensure Sgt. Peralta receives the recognition he should have received years ago."
The two-term lawmaker said intentionally smothering a grenade to save others has traditionally been recognized with the Medal of Honor.
"Sgt. Peralta's actions and sacrifice are within the standard and tradition of the Medal of Honor and it's my hope that the Secretary of the Navy will do what's right," he said.
Last month, Mabus announced the Navy was naming a destroyer after Peralta, who was born in Mexico and moved to San Diego with his family when he was young. Peralta joined the Marine Corps when he got a green card and later became a U.S. citizen.
Known as an Arleigh Burke class destroyer, the ship will conduct a variety of operations and is capable of fighting air, surface and subsurface battles. It's expected to be in service beginning in 2016.
Mabus said during an interview with the North County Times when the ship naming was announced that he was well aware of Peralta's case and indicated he would look favorably on raising the award.
Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-El Cajon and a former Marine, contends that Peralta is deserving of the nation's highest award for valor for reaching for a grenade and covering it with his body during a 2004 fight with insurgents in Iraq.
A San Diego native, Peralta was nominated by the Marine Corps for the Medal of Honor. But former Defense Secretary Robert Gates awarded him a Navy Cross instead after a special panel said it could not say for certain that Peralta's actions were deliberate.
Fellow Marines inside the house where the fighting took place said they saw Peralta reach for the grenade and pull it to his body, after he had suffered a severe head wound.
Hunter, California Sens. Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer, and San Diego County Reps. Brian Bilbray, Bob Filner, Darrell Issa and Susan Davis all signed a letter to Navy Secretary Ray Mabus asking that he reconsider Peralta's case.
The lawmakers also contend that a previously unreleased review of the forensic report of Peralta's death shows that his act was deliberate and therefore deserving of the higher military honor.
That opinion was issued in January 2010 by forensic pathologist Dr. Vincent Di Maio, a former medical examiner for San Antonio, Texas, with more than four decades of experience.
"Taking into account the circumstances surrounding the incident: the statements of the witnesses; the condition of the body armor; the autopsy findings; the opinion of the neurosurgeons and neurologist and my own experience with head wounds, it is my opinion that, in all medical probability, Sgt. Peralta was not immediately incapacitated by the brain injury, and in fact reached for the grenade and pulled it under his body," Di Maio wrote in the report requested by Peralta family supporters.
Hunter said in a statement Wednesday that report contradicts the original Defense Department conclusion, as do seven witness accounts of Peralta's act.
"The burden should not be on the Navy or Marine Corps to prove that Sgt. Peralta did what the evidence and witness accounts say he did," Hunter said. "The responsibility for correcting this mistake rests with the Secretary of Defense, who is in the position to ensure Sgt. Peralta receives the recognition he should have received years ago."
The two-term lawmaker said intentionally smothering a grenade to save others has traditionally been recognized with the Medal of Honor.
"Sgt. Peralta's actions and sacrifice are within the standard and tradition of the Medal of Honor and it's my hope that the Secretary of the Navy will do what's right," he said.
Last month, Mabus announced the Navy was naming a destroyer after Peralta, who was born in Mexico and moved to San Diego with his family when he was young. Peralta joined the Marine Corps when he got a green card and later became a U.S. citizen.
Known as an Arleigh Burke class destroyer, the ship will conduct a variety of operations and is capable of fighting air, surface and subsurface battles. It's expected to be in service beginning in 2016.
Mabus said during an interview with the North County Times when the ship naming was announced that he was well aware of Peralta's case and indicated he would look favorably on raising the award.
Call staff writer Mark Walker at 760-901-4080.
Read more: http://www.nctimes.com/news/local/military/military-congressional-reps-renew-call-for-peralta-to-receive-medal/article_41038f0a-45fe-5235-a003-2ae5e971bec3.html#ixzz1o4lRNDSk
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