IV 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. CON. RES. 26 

Recommending the posthumous award of the Medal of Honor to Sergeant 

Rafael Peralta. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 19, 2013 

Mr. HUNTER (for himself, Mr. BECERRA, Mr. VALADAO, Mr. TURNER, Mr. 

JONES, Mr. GRIMM, Mr. CA ́RDENAS, Mr. VARGAS, Mr. PETERS of California, Mrs. NAPOLITANO, Mr. COOK, Mr. KINZINGER of Illinois, Mr. 

GALLEGO, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mr. MILLER of Florida, Mr. CALVERT, Mr. 

GUTHRIE, Mr. WILSON of South Carolina, Mr. DIAZ-BALART, Mr. MURPHY of Pennsylvania, Mr. LAMALFA, Mr. SOUTHERLAND, Mr. DENHAM, 

Mr. AMODEI, Mr. ISSA, Mrs. ROBY, Mr. RUNYAN, and Mrs. DAVIS of 

California) 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 of the entire Iraq 

war; 


smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
2 

•HCON 26 IH 

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; 

Whereas the following morning, as Sergeant Peralta and his 

squad of Marines cleared their seventh house of the day, 

a close-quarter firefight erupted; 

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 into his body, absorbing the blast and shielding the 

other Marines who were only feet away; 

Whereas Sergeant Peralta, on November 15, 2004, 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 seven eyewitnesses confirmed that Sergeant Peralta 

smothered the grenade with his body, with four of the accounts, taken independently, stating that he gathered the 

grenade with his right arm; 

Whereas the historical standard for the Medal of Honor is 

two eyewitness accounts; 

Whereas in 2008, Sergeant Peralta’s Medal of Honor nomination was downgraded to the Navy Cross after an independent panel determined that Sergeant Peralta could 

not have deliberately pulled the grenade into his body due 


smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
3 

•HCON 26 IH 

to his head wound, despite seven eyewitness accounts 

stating that he did so; 

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, despite an announcement of the 

Navy’s support for upgrading Sergeant Peralta’s Navy 

Cross to the Medal of Honor, the upgrade was declined; 

Whereas the citation for Sergeant Peralta’s Navy Cross 

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 House of Representatives (the Senate 

2 concurring), That Congress— 


smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
4 

•HCON 26 IH 

1 (1) honors Sergeant Rafael Peralta, as a Mexi2 can-American who joined 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 Sergeant Peralta’s coura8 geous and selfless actions 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 Sergeant Peralta’s ac12 tions are in the spirit and tradition of the Medal of 

13 Honor; 

14 (4) maintains that, consistent with previous 

15 Medal of Honor awards, the eyewitness accounts 

16 confirm that Sergeant Peralta deliberately pulled the 

17 grenade into his body and the eyewitness accounts 

18 should be the leading and deciding factor in evalu19 ating Sergeant Peralta’s Medal of Honor nomina20 tion; and 

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

Æ 


smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS