Fallen war hero gets medal after yearslong fight for higher recognition
*After 11 years of fighting for her son to be awarded the Medal of Honor for saving his fellow Marine’s lives, Rosa Peralta accepted a posthumous Navy Cross. Sgt. Rafael Peralta died by falling on a grenade after being wounded in the head during the battle of Fallujah in 2004. The Medal of Honor was denied to him by two Secretaries of Defense. VL
By Marcia Facundo, Fox News Latino
LOS ANGELES – After years of fighting for a higher military recognition for her son, the mother of Iraq war hero Sgt. Rafael Peralta received on Monday the U.S. Navy Cross.
[tweet_dis]The military second-highest award for her fallen son’s valor was presented to Rosa Peralta during a ceremony at Camp Pendleton[/tweet_dis] in San Diego by Navy Secretary Ray Maybus, who praised her son as a patriotic Marine. [pullquote]“We are receiving the medal now because its motive is for a greater cause. That is to offer the medal to the USS Rafael Peralta in his honor. That ship contains his spirit.” -Rosa Peralta, mother of Sgt. Rafael Peralta[/pullquote]The Navy Cross was first granted to the fallen hero more than six years ago, but his family had refused to accept the recognition, citing their belief that he really deserved the nation’s highest combat decoration, the Medal of Honor.
The Marine Corps and Navy Department both approved the Medal of Honor to be bestowed posthumously, but the award ultimately was denied by then-Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates in 2008 after a lengthy investigation.
Click HERE to read the full story.
[Photo courtesy of Blackfive]
