III 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. CON. RES. 9 

Recommending the posthumous award of the Medal of Honor to Sergeant 

Rafael Peralta. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 19, 2013 

Mrs. FEINSTEIN (for herself and Mr. RUBIO) submitted the following 

concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Armed Services 

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 

Recommending the posthumous award of the Medal of Honor 

to Sergeant Rafael Peralta. 

Whereas, in November 2004, the Marine Corps led combat 

operations to retake the insurgent stronghold of Fallujah, 

Iraq, as part of Operation Phantom Fury; 

Whereas Marine Corps Sergeant Rafael Peralta and thousands of other Marines entered the city of Fallujah, coming into immediate contact with the enemy and engaging 

in some of the most intense combat in the entire Iraq 

war; 

Whereas Sergeant Peralta, serving with 1st Battalion, 3rd 

Marines, cleared scores of houses for days, and on November 14, 2004, asked to join an under-strength squad; 


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•SCON 9 IS 

Whereas, the following morning, a close-quarter fight erupted 

as Sergeant Peralta and his squad of Marines cleared 

their seventh house of the day; 

Whereas Sergeant Peralta, attempting to move out of the line 

of fire, was hit in the back of the head by a fragment 

from a ricocheted bullet; 

Whereas the insurgents, in the process of fleeing the house, 

threw a fragmentation grenade through a window, landing directly near the head of Sergeant Peralta; 

Whereas Sergeant Peralta reached for the grenade and pulled 

it to his body, absorbing the blast and shielding the other 

Marines who were only feet away; 

Whereas, on November 15, 2004, Sergeant Peralta made the 

ultimate sacrifice to save the lives of his fellow Marines; 

Whereas Sergeant Peralta was posthumously recommended 

by the Marine Corps and the Department of the Navy for 

the Medal of Honor; 

Whereas 7 eyewitnesses confirmed that Sergeant Peralta 

smothered the grenade with his body, with 4 of the accounts, taken independently, stating that Sergeant 

Peralta gathered the grenade with his right arm; 

Whereas the historical standard for awarding the Medal of 

Honor is 2 eyewitness accounts; 

Whereas, in 2008, the nomination of Sergeant Peralta for the 

Medal of Honor was downgraded to the Navy Cross after 

an independent panel determined that Sergeant Peralta 

could not deliberately have pulled the grenade to his body 

due to his head wound, despite 7 eyewitness accounts to 

the contrary; 


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•SCON 9 IS 

Whereas, in 2012, new and previously unconsidered evidence, 

consisting of combat video and an independent pathology 

report, was submitted to the Department of the Navy; 

Whereas based on the new evidence, a review of the case was 

initiated; 

Whereas, in December 2012, the upgrade from the Navy 

Cross to the Medal of Honor for Sergeant Peralta was 

denied, despite an announcement of the support of the 

Department of the Navy for the upgrade; 

Whereas the citation for the Navy Cross awarded to Sergeant 

Peralta states, ‘‘without hesitation and with complete disregard for his own personal safety, Sergeant Peralta 

reached out and pulled the grenade to his body, absorbing the brunt of the blast and shielding fellow Marines 

only feet away’’; 

Whereas Sergeant Peralta wrote to his brother in the days 

preceding his death, saying, ‘‘I’m proud to be a Marine, 

a U.S. Marine, and to defend and protect the freedom 

and Constitution of America. You should be proud of 

being an American citizen’’; 

Whereas Sergeant Peralta, who was born in Mexico and immigrated with his family to San Diego, California, enlisted in the Marine Corps on the same morning he received his proof of permanent residence, commonly known 

as a green card; and 

Whereas Sergeant Peralta and his fellow Marines are an inspiration for their service, selflessness, and sacrifice: 

Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives 

2 concurring), That Congress— 


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1 (1) honors Sergeant Rafael Peralta, a Mexican2 American who enlisted in the Marine Corps on the 

3 same day he received his permanent residence sta4 tus, for his dedication to the Marine Corps and the 

5 United States, and for upholding the highest stand6 ards of military service; 

7 (2) recognizes that the courage and selfless ac8 tions of Sergeant Peralta in combat saved the lives 

9 of his fellow Marines; 

10 (3) concurs with the Marine Corps and the De11 partment of the Navy that the actions of Sergeant 

12 Peralta are in the spirit and tradition of the Medal 

13 of Honor; 

14 (4) maintains that eyewitness accounts confirm 

15 that Sergeant Peralta deliberately pulled the grenade 

16 to his body and, consistent with previous Medal of 

17 Honor awards, the eyewitness accounts should be 

18 the leading and deciding factor in evaluating the 

19 nomination of Sergeant Peralta for the Medal of 

20 Honor; and 

21 (5) recommends that Sergeant Peralta post22 humously be awarded the Medal of Honor. 

Æ 


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