According to the secretary of the Navy, Marine Sgt. Rafael Peralta, an immigrant from Mexico City who enlisted in the Marine Corps the day before receiving his green card, was serving with the 1st Battalion of the 3rd Marine Regiment during the U.S. military assault to retake Fallujah in November 2004. After clearing scores of houses over three days, Peralta, 25, volunteered to join a squad that lacked all its men and stay on duty the night of Nov. 14, allowing his comrades to rest, according to an official military account.

The next day, while clearing another house, Peralta was caught in crossfire between insurgents and Marines, the account said. He was shot in the head and mortally wounded, probably by "friendly fire," the account stated. As the insurgents fled the building, they threw a fragmentation grenade, which landed near Peralta's head.

Then, "looking in my eyes and without hesitation and with complete disregard for his own safety, Peralta reached out and pulled the grenade to his body, absorbing the brunt of the blast, and shielding his fellow Marines only feet away," the account said.

President Bush later praised Peralta as a hero.

But a decision by Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates not to recommend him for the Medal of Honor, the nation's highest military honor, stirred an outcry yesterday by his family and Marines whose lives he saved, claiming that it may have been an simple reflex that he pulled the grenade to his body. We hope that it is not the fact that he was illegal prior to his service, for some true Americans would not have made the sacrifice that Marine Sgt. Rafael Peralta has made, therefore making this indescribable.

The fellow comrades "feel they are being treated as liars and they are alive thanks to Peralta, and all agree he should get the medal."
I hope that you agree.

The petition is as follows:

Without any hesitation, Marine Sgt. Rafael Peralta shielded and saved his fellow Marines that were only a few feet away. With this sort of remarkable action that we could only ask that most would do for their fellow comrades and/or Country, Marine Sgt. Rafael Peralta SHOULD be awarded the Medal of Honor. Not something that is won, but what was definitely earned by this fine Marine. Robert M. Gates, we adamantly request that you reconsider and give this Marine what is due.