Can you believe what this legal immigrant did?

Question

Marine sacrifices his life for others in grenade blast

By Gordon Trowbridge
The Army Times

FALLUJAH, Iraq — Sgt. Rafael Peralta built a reputation as a man who always put his Marines' interests ahead of his own.

He showed that again, when he made the ultimate sacrifice of his life Tuesday, by shielding his fellow Marines from a grenade blast. "It's stuff you hear about in boot camp, about World War II and Tarawa Marines who won the Medal of Honor," said Lance Cpl. Rob Rogers, 22, of Tallahassee, Fla., one of Peralta's platoon mates in 1st Platoon, Alpha Company, 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment.

Peralta, 25, as platoon scout, wasn't even assigned to the assault team that entered the insurgent safe house in northern Fallujah, Marines said. Despite an assignment that would have allowed him to avoid such dangerous duty, he regularly asked squad leaders if he could join their assault teams, they said.

One of the first Marines to enter the house, Peralta was wounded in the face by rifle fire from a room near the entry door, said Lance Cpl. Adam Morrison, 20, of Tacoma, who was in the house when Peralta was first wounded.

Moments later, an insurgent rolled a fragmentation grenade into the area where a wounded Peralta and the other Marines were seeking cover.

As Morrison and another Marine scrambled to escape the blast, pounding against a locked door, Peralta grabbed the grenade and cradled it into his body, Morrison said. While one Marine was badly wounded by shrapnel from the blast, the Marines said they believe more lives would have been lost if not for Peralta's selfless act.

"He saved half my fire team," said Cpl. Brannon Dyer, 27, of Blairsville, Ga. The Marines said such a sacrifice would be perfectly in character for Peralta, a Mexico native who lived in San Diego and gained U.S. citizenship after joining the Marines.

"He'd stand up for his Marines to an insane point," Rogers said.

Rogers and others remembered Peralta as a squared-away Marine, so meticulous about uniform standards that he sent his camouflage uniform to be pressed while training in Kuwait before entering Iraq.

But mostly they remembered acts of selflessness: offering career advice, giving a buddy a ride home from the bar, teaching salsa dance steps in the barracks.

While Alpha Company was still gathering information, and a formal finding on Peralta's death is likely months away, not a single Marine in Alpha Company doubted the account of Peralta's act of sacrifice.

"I believe it," said Alpha's commander, Capt. Lee Johnson. "He was that kind of Marine."

Answer 1

that man deserves a special place in heaven. he made the ultimate sacrifice. this world needs more selfless people like him. i'm saddened that he died. i wish there were some other way at the moment that he could have set the same example. god bless Peralta.

and i don't see him as a legal immigrant. i see him as an American. even better, an American fighting man. if the majority of illegal immagrants actually tried to gain citizenship, there wouldn't be such a big problem about it. Peralta's example of hard work, courage, and selfless acts of honor and caring need to be publicized.

Answer 2

Medal of Honor

Answer 3

I will pray for him, what a true meaning of heroism..

People should be more like this man... This man will be an inspiration in my book..

Makes me proud to be an immigrant planning on joining..

Answer 4

That man is the definition of what a hero is, immigrant or not.
He was a U.S. Marine.

Answer 5

Damn , If he was killed here, it would be probally be saving kids from a house fire. Nov 11 I will think of this story..

Answer 6

definately a hero.


Was your point that he was an immigrant? They are people just like we are.

Answer 7

that's so sad.. he's so loyal to his job and really thoughtful of the others.. or well it seems like it.. what a nice comrade

Answer 8

Yes, he was a true hero.

Answer 9

Wow is all I have to say.