Doubt cast over circumstances of Marine’s 2004 death at Fallujah

For nearly a decade the debate continued over whether Sgt. Rafael Peralta deserved the Medal of Honor for combat bravery.

Conflicting physical and medical evidence were at the center of the dispute involving the Marine from San Diego, Calif., who was killed in Fallujah, Iraq, in November 2004.

One thing remained constant: Marines who were with Peralta that violent day have insisted, repeatedly and emotionally, that he saved their lives by smothering an enemy grenade.

But now, the day after Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel supported the decision of his two predecessors to deny the nation’s highest medal for bravery to Peralta, a news story has suggested that the story about him saving lives by smothering a grenade is not true.

In a story published Saturday, the Washington Post quoted two Marines, Dan Allen and Reggie Brown, as saying the story is not true despite their insistence for years that it was true. They were quoted as indicating they could no longer support a falsehood even if it was meant to honor a fallen buddy.

Although denied the Medal of Honor, Peralta was posthumously awarded the Navy Cross. Peralta, who died at age 25, is buried at Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery in San Diego.