Lawmakers Ask Obama to Review Peralta Case

[livvy]

MARINE CORPS
Sgt. Rafael Peralta threw his body on a grenade and saved the lives of several Marines.


Lawmakers Ask Obama to Review Peralta Case

Staff report
Posted : Saturday Jan 24, 2009 7:29:07 EST

Seven members of California’s congressional delegation have asked President Barack Obama to bestow the Medal of Honor to Sgt. Rafael Peralta, who died saving fellow Marines in Iraq.

In September, Peralta was posthumously awarded the Navy Cross for pulling a grenade under his body in Fallujah on Nov. 15, 2004. In a letter to Obama dated Friday, the bipartisan delegation — which includes Sens. Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer, and Reps. Brian Bilbray, Bob Filner, Darrell Issa, Susan Davis and Duncan Hunter — said, “We feel there is now question, based on the facts of the case and the eye-witness testimony of those ... with him on the mission, that is deserving of the prestigious Medal of Honor.”

The delegation previously sent requests to former President George W. Bush and Defense Secretary Robert Gates, who ordered an independent review of Peralta’s mental faculties at the time of his actions. Navy Secretary Donald Winter supported Peralta’s nomination for the Medal of Honor, the nation’s highest award for valor, but Gates ultimately did not.

“This brave and courageous action is an inspiring testament of his dedication to his fellow Marines and willingness to lay down his life to protect theirs,” the lawmakers wrote Obama.

The letter asks Obama to provide a detailed explanation should his administration decide not to review Peralta’s case.


Read the letter to Obama:
http://www.militarytimes.com/static/projects/pages/peralta_letter.pdf

If the above link to the letter doesn't work, try the one at the bottom of the article at the link below. There are also links to related articles.


http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/news/2009/01/marine_peralta_012309w/%2e

on edit: The link below is to an article that includes a lot of info/details/background on the story:

http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/news/2009/01/marine_peralta_side2_012309w/%2e