thedrifter
01-01-09, 06:54 AM
Marines appeal for Medal of Honor
Associated Press - December 30, 2008 2:24 PM ET
HONOLULU (AP) - Fellow Marines will appeal to President-elect Barack Obama to award the Medal of Honor to a Hawaii-based Marine who witnesses say threw himself on a grenade to save his colleagues during combat in Iraq.
But they may struggle to get the nation's highest military honor for Kaneohe Marine Sgt. Rafael Peralta.
Peralta has already been denied the Medal of Honor after Defense Secretary Robert Gates recommended he be awarded the Navy Cross, the second-highest combat honor.
Former Marine Robert Reynolds says Peralta saved his life and those of 4 other Marines during the battle for Fallujah in 2004.
A group of 5 independent experts reviewed the forensic evidence and unanimously found they couldn't be sure Peralta acted deliberately.
Ellie
Associated Press - December 30, 2008 2:24 PM ET
HONOLULU (AP) - Fellow Marines will appeal to President-elect Barack Obama to award the Medal of Honor to a Hawaii-based Marine who witnesses say threw himself on a grenade to save his colleagues during combat in Iraq.
But they may struggle to get the nation's highest military honor for Kaneohe Marine Sgt. Rafael Peralta.
Peralta has already been denied the Medal of Honor after Defense Secretary Robert Gates recommended he be awarded the Navy Cross, the second-highest combat honor.
Former Marine Robert Reynolds says Peralta saved his life and those of 4 other Marines during the battle for Fallujah in 2004.
A group of 5 independent experts reviewed the forensic evidence and unanimously found they couldn't be sure Peralta acted deliberately.
Ellie