(Washington Times) Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta has denied the request to give Sgt. Rafael Peralta the Medal of Honor, saying there are still too many questions to accept that he knowingly scooped a grenade beneath himself to absorb its blast and save his fellow Marines.
The Pentagon informed Peralta’s family Wednesday morning of the denial, eight years after he was killed in Fallujah, Iraq, and four years after then-Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates denied an initial bid to award Peralta the military’s top honor despite eyewitness reports from his platoon that he saved their lives.
