A San Diego lawmaker is reviving the push to award the Medal of Honor to Sgt. Rafael Peralta, a U.S. Marine who is said to have sacrificed his life by falling on a grenade to save fellow troops during the Second Battle of Fallujah in 2004. The legislation, introduced by U.S. Rep. Darrell Issa on May 21, asks Congress to waive the statutory time limit on the award and allow President Donald Trump to give Peralta the nation’s highest military honor for his acts during Operation Iraqi Freedom.
A San Diego lawmaker is reviving the push to award the Medal of Honor to Sgt. Rafael Peralta , a U.S. Marine who is said to have sacrificed his life by falling on a grenade to save fellow troops during the Second Battle of Fallujah in 2004.
The legislation, introduced by U.S. Rep. Darrell Issa on May 21, asks Congress to waive the statutory time limit on the award and allow President Donald Trump to give Peralta the nation’s highest military honor for his acts during Operation Iraqi Freedom. According to the Congressional Medal of Honor Society, an individual must be recommended for the Medal of Honor within three years of their valorous action, and the medal must be presented within five years.
If it is not, Congress must pass a law waiving the time limits. Born in Mexico City in 1979, Sgt. Peralta was brought to the United States as a child by his parents. A graduate of San Diego’s Morse High School, he enlisted in the Marines the day he received his green card in the mail.
While clearing buildings on Nov. 15, 2004, Peralta’s team of ‘Lava Dogs’ of A Company, 1st Battalion, 3rd Marines, based in Hawaii, was assailed by a hail of bullets. He fell mortally wounded to the floor as an enemy combatant threw a grenade near his head, Peralta snatched the explosive close to his body, absorbing ‘the blast and shielding nearby Marines from death or serious bodily harm.
’ For his actions, Peralta was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart and a Combat Action Ribbon. An Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer homeported in Yokosuka, Japan, was named in his honor. An effort to reopen the Medal of Honor nomination of Peralta in 2012 after new video and audio evidence of the Marine’s actions emerged. The Department of Defense has since given ‘favorable determinations’ that affirm Peralta’s ‘actions merit consideration for the Medal of Honor.
’ If approved by Congress, the legislation would be sent to the president’s desk for his signature
Medal Of Honor Sgt. Rafael Peralta Second Battle Of Fallujah Operation Iraqi Freedom Purple Heart Combat Action Ribbon Navy Cross Congressional Medal Of Honor Society Darrell Issa President Donald Trump Operation Al Fajr Lava Dogs A Company 1St Battalion 3Rd Marines Yokosuka Japan Bath Maine Fallujah Iraq Navy Secretary Favorable Determinations Medal Of Honor Nomination Royce Williams Soviet Mig Aircraft
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