Did Sgt. Rafael Peralta's actions deserve MOH or not?

Sgt. Rafael Peralta’s Medal of Honor case shifts again
JUNE 22ND, 2012
POSTED BY DAN LAMOTHE

Sgt. Rafael Peralta’s case for the Medal of Honor has shifted again, according to a congressman who has pressed the Pentagon to review new evidence that he says shows the Marine chose to smother a grenade to save his buddies in Iraq.

Peralta, 25, died Nov. 15, 2004, in Fallujah. He was awarded the Navy Cross in 2008 for disregarding his own personal safety while already mortally wounded, pulling the grenade to his body, “absorbing the brunt of the blast and shielding fellow Marines only feet away,” according to his award citation.

Despite the extraordinary heroism, then-Defense Secretary Robert Gates shot down Peralta’s case for the Medal of Honor in 2008, leading the Navy Department to authorize the Navy Cross instead.

Pentagon officials cited “contradictory evidence” on whether he had the cognitive ability to choose to cover the grenade despite already being mortally wounded in the head, outraging his family, fellow Marines and veterans.

The Navy Department acknowledged in March that it was reviewing new evidence — two videos recorded shortly after the blast by fellow Marines and a new pathology report — but declined to characterize the move as a “re-opening” of the case.
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