Peralta legacy lives on: USS Rafael Peralta to carry tradition of heroism [Image 7 of 10]

SAN DIEGO, CA, UNITED STATES

09.20.2013

Photo by Lance Cpl. Anna Albrecht 

I Marine Expeditionary Force

Icela Donald, sister of Navy Cross recipient, Sgt. Rafael Peralta, and his mother, Rosa Peralta, are interviewed by news stations aboard Naval Base San Diego, Calif., Sept. 20. Peralta was honored during a ship-naming ceremony, the USS Rafael Peralta, the 65th Arleigh Burke-class destroyer. The Mexican immigrant who joined the Corps as soon as he obtained his green card in 2000, deployed to Iraq with 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, and soon found himself in the middle of urban warfare during the second battle of Fallujah in 2004. Peralta and members of his squad kicked down a door and were instantly fired upon. He was fatally wounded and fell to the floor. Despite being wounded, he noticed a grenade only a foot from his head, reached out, grabbed it and placed it under his body to abosrb the impact, subsequently saving the lives of the other Marines in his squad.

• Date Taken: 09.20.2013
• Date Posted: 09.25.2013 12:58
• Photo ID: 1025681
• VIRIN: 130920-A-AL123-007-CC
• Resolution: 5616x3744
• Size: 8.22 MB
• Location: SAN DIEGO, CA, US