Who Knows Anything? The blog of Chip Gallent. eBusinessman.

A Hero is Always a Hero: Sgt. Rafael Peralta

Posted by Chip

I was clicking through the channels today, ended up on the Military Channel and came across this fascinating story of a Hero:
31st MEU dedicates building to Marine killed in Iraq

 I did a little research and found the rest of the story and background info here:
Sgt. Rafael Peralta, American Hero: Everyone should know his name

Here's an excerpt:

During the firefight, a yellow fragmentation grenade flew out of the room, landing near Peralta and several fellow Marines. The uninjured Marines tried to scatter out of the way, two of them trying to escape the room, but were blocked by a locked door. At that point, barely alive, Peralta grabbed the grenade and cradled it to his body.

His body took most of the blast. One Marine was seriously injured, but the rest sustained only minor shrapnel wounds. Cpl. Brannon Dyer told a reporter from the Army Times, "He saved half my fire team."

The thing that got me in this article was this:

Kaemmerer recounts how later on the night of Nov. 15, a friend approached him and said: "You're still here; don't forget that. Tell your kids, your grandkids, what Sgt. Peralta did for you and the other Marines today." Don't forget. Good advice for all of us.

Take your own opinion of what's going on and put it to the side for a moment - this guy is a hero. He was nominated for the Congressional Medal of Honor not long after his death. A side note: the only time a general first salutes someone of lesser rank is when that person is a Medal of Honor recipient. Usually, salutes are initiated by those of lesser rank as a sign of respect to their superiors.

Here's the Wikipedia source: Sgt. Rafael Peralta.

Footnote: I am not interested in political views regarding the issues with terrorism or Iraq. I always try and separate politics from the Military and the men and women who serve. I hope you do too, because, for the most part, they just do what they're told - plain and simple. That's their job. The politicians set the policy and I'm not opening that can of worms.