A margin of doubt for the Medal of Honor

Posted by guest blogger Locutisprime

The last time I checked, awarding the Medal of Honor was not hinged upon some courtroom standard of reasonable doubt. Witnesses testify to the acts of the individual cited and the medal is awarded for cause based upon eye witness testimony.

In  this case a young Marine died saving his comrades from a grenade attack in Iraq eight years ago, yet the secretary of defense and his predecessor don't believe that what he did that day is good enough to receive the nation's highest honor. This fallen Marine was observed scooping a live grenade underneath his body to save his comrades, but that isn't good enough. Serious questions have been raised.  Questions like......which hand did he use to grab and scoop the grenade with?

Seriously? In the fog of war, one man's recollection of which hand was used differs from another? And that is cause to inject reasonable doubt and deny this medal? Other questions linger and suggest the autopsy report reflects that Sgt. Rafael Peralta suffered a mortal head wound before the incident and therefore, he couldn't have done that which others witnessed him perform? Really?  A mortally wounded Marine saved his comrades, but that couldn't have happened as it has been reported? So what the hell did the witnesses see that day? Was it a dead man that reached out and scooped up a grenade and saved his comrades? Or was Sgt. Rafael Peralta shot in the head after the act? Or did his fellow Marines simply place his body on top of a live grenade after his death for shits and giggles?

Leon Panetta and Robert Gates are both POS in my opinion. Neither of them have provided anything other than yes man stone walling for this cardboard cutout presidency of Barack Obama. Both have been responsible for the countless deaths of our service men in Afghanistan since Obama took office via their complicit issuance of absurd rules of engagement. Rules specifically aimed at furthering the liberal agenda and perception, while sacrificing our troops on the alter of political correct egalitarianism. Panetta and Gates are personally responsible because they have implemented Obama's political policies to the detriment and the death of young men and women who deserved more from their leaders than political correctness and egalitarian lies.

This young Marine deserves the honor that he earned. This medal was paid for in full in Fallujah Iraq eight years ago. It was paid for with the last full measure of love and devotion that Sgt. Rafael Peralta could offer to his friends as he was dying in a despicable place for a despicable cause.

Shame on all who have sought to deny this hero the honor and respect that he earned

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.

Icela Donald, Peralta’s sister, said the decision was a disappointment — compounded by the lack of a good reason. She said the family was told that one overriding factor was Mr. Panetta's reluctance to overturn the decision of Mr. Gates.

“That right there just truly made it even worse,” she said. “It’s not that they don’t want to do the right thing, it’s that they don’t want to turn over someone else’s decision.”
A Pentagon spokesman said the Defense Department wouldn’t comment “on Medal of Honor nominations under consideration.”

Peralta has been awarded the Navy Cross, the second-highest honor a Marine can earn, but his family has not accepted it. Ms. Donald said her mother feels that if she accepted it, she would be settling.
The quest to upgrade to the Medal of Honor seemed to get a big boost last week when Navy Secretary Ray Mabus backed the move, and Peralta has had a key ally in Rep. Duncan Hunter, a California Republican who served tours in Iraq and Afghanistan as a Marine officer.

Peralta was under consideration for the Medal of Honor four years ago, but the Pentagon questioned the reliability of eyewitnesses, who said Peralta scooped the grenade under him but disagreed about details such as which hand he used.

The Pentagon also pointed to autopsy data that suggested he was likely dead, and probably blinded, from a friendly-fire gunshot wound to the head and thus could not have voluntarily scooped the grenade toward himself.

“There is no way to reconcile differences in forensic evidence and conflicting testimony of Marines involved,” the Pentagon report said, but it concluded that the forensic evidence created enough “margin of doubt” that the medal could not be issued.

Read the rest.

Comments

[tim aka The Godless Heathen]

I’ve read about this case before and it would appear that Sgt. Peralta does indeed deserve the MOH. However, ever since 9/11 and the resulting two wars there have been instances where the MOH should have been awarded and wasn’t as well as MOH being awarded that maybe shouldn’t have. It’s unfortunate either way.

I think it would be better to honor Sgt. Rafael Peralta as the hero he obviously is by not taking issue as to why he didn’t receive the MOH but rather honoring his memory for what he did.

I hope his family reconsiders receiving on their son’s behalf the Navy Cross. An honor that is certainly something to be extremely proud of and not something to be looked at as a easily dismissed consolation prize.

Sgt. Peralta, like all who serve, didn’t enlist for medals or personal recognition, he did so because he understood that there are things that are more important than himself.

So, Sgt. Peralta, I for one will remember your name and what you did, MOH or not.Semper Fidelis Sgt. Peralta and to those that have given all.

[Locutisprime]

Thank you for those sentiments Tim.

The thing that really bothers me about this is that there are many many people that have received the MOH, who did far less than Sgt. Peralta. There are also a number of MOH awards that have been presented for the exact same conduct that Sgt. Peralta demonstrated that day.

The bottom line, the MOH has always been given based upon the testimony of eyewitness accounts and anyone familiar with eyewitness testimony knows and recognizes that witnesses observe the exact same event and yet they see different things. Could those individual observations possibly be further clouded in the midst of combat ? I tend to believe so.

A conflict in perception does not mean that the individual witnesses are lying or that they are in error of what they saw, what it means is that individual perception is just that, it is individual perception.

One person sees you use your left hand, the next person sees you use your right hand. The bottom line, there was obviously more than one witness to Sgt. Peralta actions that day and as such, they obviously reported that they saw him scoop a grenade and cover it with his body to prevent his comrades from being injured or killed. Does it really matter which hand he used? Or whether all agree that it was one hand over the other?

How in hell these Monday morning bureaucrats can have the temerity to challenge these eyewitness reports and deny this deserved honor to Sgt. Peralta is beyond me.

Actually, it isn't beyond me. These people, (Panetta and Gates) have absolutely no clue what is involved in protecting this nation or the sacrifices involved by our personnel who are called upon to do the job and stand in the breech of harms way.

This isn't Monday night football. There are no instant replays and there should be simple justice involved for Sgt. Peralta. Nothing more, nothing less.

I agree, the Navy Cross is not something to be scoffed at, but I can understand this Marine's mother's sentiments. Her son has been denied that which he rightfully earned with the sacrifice of his life. To do anything less is a dishonor to Sgt. Peralta's memory and his sacrifice for this nation.

Perhaps some day in the future when we once again have an administration that cares about this country and its military, Sgt. Peralta's MOH will be given to his family in his honor and the memory of his sacrifice.

Semper Fi.......