HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.C.R. NO.

19

TWENTY-FIFTH LEGISLATURE, 2009

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 

 

 

 

 

HOUSE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

 

 

strongly urging the secretary of defense and the president of the united states to award sgt. Rafael Peralta the medal of honor.

 

 

 


     WHEREAS, Rafael Peralta was born in Mexico City, Mexico on April 7, 1979 to Rafael and Rosa Peralta, and was the oldest child of four siblings; and

 

     WHEREAS, Rafael Peralta enlisted in the Marine Corps in 2000, the day after he got his green card and completed boot camp at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot in San Diego; and

 

     WHEREAS, during his training at Camp Pendleton's School of Infantry, Rafael Peralta earned the military specialty 0311, also known as Marine Rifleman, and was then issued orders to the 3rd Marines Regiment stationed at Marine Corps Base Hawaii in Kaneohe; and

 

     WHEREAS, his battalion redeployed to Iraq's Anbar Province in 2004 as part of Operation Phantom Fury to battle insurgents in their stronghold of Fallujah; and

 

     WHEREAS, on November 15, 2004, while assisting one of his rifle platoon's squads to clear a house of terrorists and insurgents, Sergeant Peralta was mortally wounded when he smothered an enemy grenade into his body to protect the soldiers in his platoon, and is credited for saving the lives of six of his fellow Marines; and

 

     WHEREAS, for Sgt. Peralta's heroic actions, he was awarded the Purple Heart and Navy Cross; and

 

WHEREAS, during his military career, he was also awarded the Good Conduct Medal, National Defense Service Medal, the Iraq Campaign Medal, Combat Action Ribbon, and the Sea Service Deployment Ribbon; and

 

     WHEREAS, upon hearing of Sgt. Peralta's bravery, in late 2004, U.S. Representative Bob Fliner wrote a letter to then Marine Corp Commandant Gen. Michael Hagee recommending Rafael Peralta for the Medal of Honor, the nation's highest military award for valor in action against an enemy force that can be bestowed upon an individual serving the U.S. armed forces; and

 

     WHEREAS, Defense Secretary Robert Gates convened a five-member board, which on September 18, 2008, concluded that Sgt. Rafael Peralta's actions did not warrant the medal of Honor, citing that the evidence did not meet the exacting 'no doubt' standard necessary to support awarding the nation's highest military award; and

 

     WHEREAS, in November 2008, Defense Secretary Robert Gates rejected a request by several members of Congress to upgrade the valor award for Marine Sgt. Rafael Peralta and announced his decision not to conduct further reviews into Sgt. Peralta's actions; now, therefore,

 

     BE IT RESOLVED that the House of Representatives of the Twenty-Fifth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session 2009, the Senate concurring, strongly urges the Defense Secretary and the President of the United States to reconsider their decisions and award Sergeant Rafael Peralta the Medal of Honor for his bravery in sacrificing his life for his fellow soldiers; and

 

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the President of the United States of America, the Secretary of Defense, Rafael Peralta's Mother, and the President of the Senate and Speaker of the House of the United States Congress.

 

 

 

 

OFFERED BY:

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Report Title: 

Medal of Honor; Sgt. Rafael Peralta