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jalexson
PO3
Joined: 11 May 2004
Posts: 272
Location: Hutchinson, Kansas
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 Posted: Fri Sep 19, 2008 5:52 am Post subject: Sec Gates Award Rafael Peralta an MOH |
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the Washington Post is reporting that Defense Secretary Robert Gates has decided not to award a Medal of Honor to Marine Sgt. Rafael Peralta because some alleged medical experts who weren't there aren't convinced he was able to do what his fellow Marines claim he did -- grab a grenade and pull it to his body to protect his fellow Marines.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/18/AR2008091803820.html?hpid=moreheadlines
| Rich Lowry wrote: | Sgt. Peralta, 25, was a Mexican American. He joined the Marines the day after he got his green card and earned his citizenship while in uniform. He was fiercely loyal to the ethos of the Corps. While in Kuwait, waiting to go into Iraq, he had his camouflage uniform sent out to be pressed. He constantly looked for opportunities to help his Marine brothers, which is why he ended up where he was on Nov. 15. A week into the battle for Fallujah, the Marines were still doing the deadly work of clearing the city, house by house. As a platoon scout, Peralta didn't have to go out with the assault team that day. He volunteered to go.
According to Kaemmerer, the Marines entered a house and kicked in the doors of two rooms that proved empty. But there was another closed door to an adjoining room. It was unlocked, and Peralta, in the lead, opened it. He was immediately hit with AK-47 fire in his face and upper torso by three insurgents. He fell out of the way into one of the cleared rooms to give his fellow Marines a clear shot at the enemy. During the firefight, a yellow fragmentation grenade flew out of the room, landing near Peralta and several fellow Marines. The uninjured Marines tried to scatter out of the way, two of them trying to escape the room, but were blocked by a locked door. At that point, barely alive, Peralta grabbed the grenade and cradled it to his body.
His body took most of the blast. One Marine was seriously injured, but the rest sustained only minor shrapnel wounds. Cpl. Brannon Dyer told a reporter from the Army Times, "He saved half my fire team." |
There is no valid reason to deny an MOH to Peralta. People who weren't there shouldn't be able to contradict the eyewitness accounts of those who were there.
We should contact President Bush to ask him to reverse the decision by Secretary Gates. http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/
_________________
"That awful power, the public opinion of a nation, is created in America by a horde of ignorant, self-complacent simpletons who failed at ditching and shoe making and fetched up in journalism on their way to the poor house."
-- Mark Twain |
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BuffaloJack
Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy
Joined: 10 Aug 2004
Posts: 1637
Location: Buffalo, New York
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| Posted: Fri Sep 19, 2008 5:03 pm Post subject: |
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The lack of many MOH awards in general is just a reflection of an anti-Military environment in the Beltway.
This marine deserves the MOH.
While we're on it, there should be more medals awarded to live warriors. We need our living true heros and nothing says hero better than the MOH.
My best friend, a Cobra Gunship pilot, died 2 years ago. Nick received his silver star from an action in 1968, just 3 weeks before his death. Medals need to be awarded in a timely manner, not decades after the fact.
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Swift Boats - Qui Nhon (12/69-4/70), Cat Lo (4/70-5/70), Vung Tau (5/70-12/71) |
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TEWSPilot
Admiral
Joined: 26 Aug 2004
Posts: 1235
Location: Kansas (Transplanted Texan)
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| Posted: Fri Sep 19, 2008 5:43 pm Post subject: |
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"The willingness with which our young people are likely to serve in any war, no matter how justified, shall be directly proportional to how they perceive the Veterans of earlier wars to be treated and appreciated by their nation." - George Washington
"Any nation that does not honor its heroes will not long endure." - Abraham Lincoln
"Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." - George Santayana
"I will stand with the Muslims should the political winds shift in an ugly direction." - From Barack Obama's book, "Audacity of Hope" |
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zinfella
Rear Admiral
Joined: 19 Aug 2004
Posts: 708
Location: Mesa, Az
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| Posted: Fri Sep 19, 2008 5:50 pm Post subject: |
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Extraordinary men, in extraordinary circumstances, do extraordinary things. Give him the medal!
_________________
No whiners! |
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