On 6 November, 2004, a Mexican immigrant serving with the United States Marine Corps in Iraq penned a note to his brother back home in San Diego. Sergeant Rafael Peralta, who earned his U.S citizenship while in uniform, wrote these words:
"Tomorrow, at 1900 hours, we are going to declare war in the holy city of Fallujah. We are going to defeat the insurgents. Watch the news, it's going to be all over. Be proud of me, bro, I'm going to make history and do something that I always wanted to do.... If anything happens to me, just remember I lived my life to the fullest and I'm happy with what I lived."
As discussed in the post below, something indeed did happen to Sgt. Peralta. He became embroiled in a firefight, and found that the angels had placed him in a position to save the lives of five fellow Marines. Sgt. Peralta accepted the angels' assignment, but lost his own life in the process, by throwing himself atop a live grenade. The Pentagon is being inexplicably stingy about awarding Peralta the Medal of Honor recommended by the Marine Corps and the Navy. The SecDef believes Peralta did not have the presence of mind to choose Medal of Honor heroism, but that he was lucid enough to perform Navy Cross-worthy heroism. Yeah, I don't get it, either. As I mentioned earlier, the Navy Cross is in itself a great honor - but not enough for this particluarly brave soul.
The good news is, indignation on this injustice is spreading through the right quarters. California politicians are asking questions, and now the entire Hawaiian Congressional delegation has sent a letter to the White House requesting presidential review on Peralta's proposed Medal of Honor.
If you listen very carefully, you can hear a soft sound in the distance. It emanates from Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery in San Diego. That is where the ghosts of the fallen are gathered, beating a steady tatoo on behalf of an American Marine, Sgt. Rafael Peralta. May that sound become a drumbeat that spreads all the way to Washington.
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