Peralta Medal of Honor case goes to Hagel
Most of you already know the heroic story of Rafael Peralta, the Marine sergeant who had been severely wounded, yet still used his broken body to shield his mates from a grenade blast. he was awarded the Navy Cross for his final selfless act, but others think that he earned the Medal of Honor that day. One of those people is Congressman Duncan Hunter, who s asking Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel to reconsider the award, according to the Washington Times;
Rep. Duncan Hunter, a California Republican who served combat tours as a Marine officer in Afghanistan and Iraq, has made Sgt. Rafael Peralta’s case a mission, and the congressman said Wednesday that the credibility of the Medal of Honor system is riding on whether the Defense Department gets his case right.
[…]
“If you do the right thing on Peralta, it will show the military that, hey, we can do the Medal of Honor process properly,” the congressman told The Washington Times.
He and two California Democrats, Sen. Dianne Feinstein and Rep. Xavier Becerra, wrote a letter asking that the nomination be reopened.
There is no indication that Mr. Hagel has reopened the case, but Pentagon spokesman Carl Woog said the secretary is taking a look at some of the details.
The Navy Cross is nothing to sneeze at, but still, I hope the Defense Department does the right thing and honor this extraordinary Marine in the way that they should.
Category: Real Soldiers
When you get to the MOH and various service crosses, we are, IMHO, a bit stingy with them when compared to previous conflicts–and the Marines doubly so.
Granted, while Navy and Marines aren’t big on awards, they need to step up and recognize “over and above” sacrifice and award it accordingly in cases such as these.
There’s far too much political style interference from Officers up the food chain in their downgrading of combat awards for those serving in the line. They’ll get a Bronze Star for their Powerpoint presentations that were really done by an NCO in their staff, but the guy taking fire will get his downgraded to an ARCOM with a V. It’s disgustingly obvious what they are doing and have been doing in crapping on the junior guys, while pinning shit on their own chests to help their own careers.
Great Post. Yes … the Navy Cross.
Read more here: http://www.amazon.com/Navy-Cross-Extraordinary-Afghanistan-Conflicts/dp/1591149452/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1386253178&sr=1-4&keywords=the+navy+cross
There is a fine line between the NC and MoH … often blurred by politics …
The reason for denying his MOH also excludes awarding of the Navy Cross. If his actions were involuntary reactions of a dead body, then the Navy Cross is not warranted either.
Unfortunately, the decision was based upon testimony by a doctor who did not understand the “6-minute die off curve”. Basically, a fatal wound can be sustained but the body/person does not die/shut down immediately. The period of life can be prolonged up to 6 minutes.
Sergeant Peralta was conscious and controlling his actions when he covered the grenade….and no pog can ever change that.
-Thundering Third
The verbiage set forth for the MOH and Distinguished Sevice Cross/Navy Cross/Air Force Cross/Coast Guard Cross is beyond my comprehension. Oh, I can read the words and understand each but I can’t wedge a gnat’s eyelash between the former and the three latter awards.
Three latter awards? Make that four. I can’t count either, evidently.
http://www.amazon.com/Heroes-Exciting-Stories-Bravery-Landmark/dp/B004AHP1QM
This book provides a great foundation.
Andy are you FMF Corpsman?
Guilty as charged.
@4, Couldn’t have said it better myself:
“Sergeant Peralta was conscious and controlling his actions when he covered the grenade….and no pog can ever change that.”
Perfect summation. Thank you and Semper Fi!
@ Andy: God Bless the FMF Navy Corpsman and the Warriors they serve!
Awards depend on what commands submit them. I rececently read of two actions where 4 Marines were posthumously awarded Medals. Pretty much the exact circumstances. There were two instances in which a pair of Marines where guarding a checkpoint and a suicide bomber drove a vehicle at them. In both instances the nearby Iraqi security forces took off and the Marines stood their ground, killing the driving and causing an early detonation, preventing further casualties. Two Marines got Bronze Stars, Two got Navy Crosses. riddle me that.
I agree about the politicism — look at the case of CPT Swenson — he was just honored with the MOH yet he was in the same battle as SGT Dakota Meyers. CPT Swenson had the courage to criticize the lack of support that day and name the names. Funny — his package kept disappearing — took well over 2 1/2 years for it to resurface and get approved.
My personal opinion is that no one should be in the loop of approval that hasn’t served in combat. But, that isn’t going to ever happen.
Unfortunately, I have to agree with #2 up there. Even though I was injured in an IED attack, my Battalion “lost” my PH paperwork. The officer in charge of the S-1 shop was a ring knocker from one of the lesser academies and told be to my face that I was there to “support the infantry and not to outshine them” when I inquired about the award packet that was submitted by my CO. I damn near broke my cane over his head when he said that.
Then again, he was the same ass who reduced me from E-4 to E-3 for not passing my PT test… before I was cleared to walk without a cane. But, they’re the ones that the 0bama admin as ordered to keep in service.