,,iii  #aacth ,,congress  #ast ,session 
,s4 ,,con4 ,,res4 #i  ,,in ,,the        
,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states   
,march #ai1 #bjac ,mrs4 ,feinstein 7for 
herself and ,mr4 ,rubio7 submitted the  
following concurrent resolution2 which  
was referred to the ,committee on ,armed
 ,services  ,,concurrent ,,resolution   
,recommending the posthumous award of   
the ,medal of ,honor to ,sergeant       
,rafael ,peralta4  ,whereas1 in         
,november #bjjd1 the ,marine ,corps led 
combat operations to retake the         
insurgent stronghold of ,fallujah1      
,iraq1 as part of ,operation ,phantom   
,fury2 ,whereas ,marine ,corps ,sergeant
 ,rafael ,peralta and thousands of other
 ,marines entered the city of ,fallujah1
 coming into immediate contact with the 
enemy and engaging in some of the most  
intense combat in the entire ,iraq war2 
,whereas ,sergeant ,peralta1 serving    
with #ast ,battalion1 #crd ,marines1    
cleared scores of houses for days1 and  
on ,november #ad1 #bjjd1 asked to join  

an under-strength squad2 ,whereas1 the  
following morning1 a close-quarter fight
 erupted as ,sergeant ,peralta and his  
squad of ,marines cleared their seventh 
house of the day2 ,whereas ,sergeant    
,peralta1 attempting to move out of the 
line of fire1 was hit in the back of the
 head by a fragment from a ricocheted   
bullet2 ,whereas the insurgents1 in the 
process of fleeing the house1 threw a   
fragmentation grenade through a window1 
landing directly near the head of       
,sergeant ,peralta2 ,whereas ,sergeant  
,peralta reached for the grenade and    
pulled it to his body1 absorbing the    
blast and shielding the other ,marines  
who were only feet away2 ,whereas1 on   
,november #ae1 #bjjd1 ,sergeant ,peralta
 made the ultimate sacrifice to save the
 lives of his fellow ,marines2 ,whereas 
,sergeant ,peralta was posthumously     
recommended by the ,marine ,corps and   
the ,department of the ,navy for the    
,medal of ,honor2 ,whereas #g           
eyewitnesses confirmed that ,sergeant   

,peralta smothered the grenade with his 
body1 with #d of the accounts1 taken    
independently1 stating that ,sergeant   
,peralta gathered the grenade with his  
right arm2 ,whereas the historical      
standard for awarding the ,medal of     
,honor is #b eyewitness accounts2       
,whereas1 in #bjjh1 the nomination of   
,sergeant ,peralta for the ,medal of    
,honor was downgraded to the ,navy      
,cross after an independent panel       
determined that ,sergeant ,peralta could
 not deliberately have pulled the       
grenade to his body due to his head     
wound1 despite #g eyewitness accounts to
 the contrary2 ,whereas1 in #bjab1 new  
and previously unconsidered evidence1   
consisting of combat video and an       
independent pathology report1 was       
submitted to the ,department of the     
,navy2 ,whereas based on the new        
evidence1 a review of the case was      
initiated2 ,whereas1 in ,december #bjab1
 the upgrade from the ,navy ,cross to   
the ,medal of ,honor for ,sergeant      

,peralta was denied1 despite an         
announcement of the support of the      
,department of the ,navy for the        
upgrade2 ,whereas the citation for the  
,navy ,cross awarded to ,sergeant       
,peralta states1 without hesitation and 
with complete disregard for his own     
personal safety1 ,sergeant ,peralta     
reached out and pulled the grenade to   
his body1 absorbing the brunt of the    
blast and shielding fellow ,marines only
 feet away2 ,whereas ,sergeant ,peralta 
wrote to his brother in the days        
preceding his death1 saying1 ,i'm proud 
to be a ,marine1 a ,u4,s4 ,marine1 and  
to defend and protect the freedom and   
,constitution of ,america4 ,you should  
be proud of being an ,american citizen2 
,whereas ,sergeant ,peralta1 who was    
born in ,mexico and immigrated with his 
family to ,san ,diego1 ,california1     
enlisted in the ,marine ,corps on the   
same morning he received his proof of   
permanent residence1 commonly known as a
 green card2 and ,whereas ,sergeant     

,peralta and his fellow ,marines are an 
inspiration for their service1          
selflessness1 and sacrifice3 ,now1      
therefore1 be it  ,that ,congress--     
7#a7 honors ,sergeant ,rafael ,peralta1 
a ,mexican-,american who enlisted in the
 ,marine ,corps on the same day he      
received his permanent residence status1
 for his dedication to the ,marine      
,corps and the ,united ,states1 and for 
upholding the highest standards of      
military service2  7#b7 recognizes that 
the courage and selfless actions of     
,sergeant ,peralta in combat saved the  
lives of his fellow ,marines2  7#c7     
concurs with the ,marine ,corps and the 
,department of the ,navy that the       
actions of ,sergeant ,peralta are in the
 spirit and tradition of the ,medal of  
,honor2  7#d7 maintains that eyewitness 
accounts confirm that ,sergeant ,peralta
 deliberately pulled the grenade to his 
body and1 consistent with previous      
,medal of ,honor awards1 the eyewitness 
accounts should be the leading and      

deciding factor in evaluating the       
nomination of ,sergeant ,peralta for the
 ,medal of ,honor2 and  7#e7 recommends 
that ,sergeant ,peralta posthumously be 
awarded the ,medal of ,honor4