A VETERAN WORTH REMEMBERING
by Pastor Rick Sams
How do you raise a Joseph? Every parent who knows the
Bible story of Joseph, who literally became the savior of the known world in
ancient times, wants to know the answer to that question (Genesis 37-50).
He�s one of only two Old Testament figures who the Bible consistently speaks
about in a positive way.
How do you raise a Congressional Medal of Honor
winner? That�s another question parents should be curious about, because
of the tremendous character required to win it.
Sergeant Rafael Peralta
is not a name many will remember, because there was not much written about him
or his upbringing even though he is someone Congress is seriously considering
for their rarely awarded Medal of Honor. This medal is given to military
personnel for extraordinary acts of sacrifice and bravery at risk to ones own
life.
He was in Company A, 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment for
Operation Dawn, during the fall offensive of 2004 to retake the Iraqi city of
Fallujah, which had become a haven for terrorists. What he did on November
15 was act worthy of the Congressional Medal and a sign of great
character.
Sgt. Peralta, 25, was a Mexican American. He
joined the Marines the day after he got his green card and completed his
citizenship while in uniform. He constantly looked for ways to help his
Marine brothers, which is why he was where he was on Nov. 15. By
then the Marines were still doing the deadly work of searching each house.
As a platoon scout, Peralta didn't have to go out with the assault team that
day. He volunteered to go.
After searching a suspected terrorist
house there was one last interior room with a closed door. After kicking
it in he was immediately hit with AK-47 fire in his face and chest. He
fell in such a way that his team had a clear shot at the terrorists. But
then came the grenade out of the room into the midst of the Marine team who had
no quick way out. Peralta rolled over on top of it intentionally cradling
it into his body.
The explosion killed him instantly. The other
team members were wounded. But all survived.
His sacrifice
compares to past Medal of Honor winners Pfc. James LaBelle and Lance
Cpl. Richard Anderson. LaBelle dove on a Japanese grenade to save
two fellow Marines during the battle of Iwo Jima. Although he had just
been wounded twice, Anderson rolled over an enemy grenade to save a fellow
Marine during a 1969 battle in Vietnam.
Peralta's sacrifice should have
been reported repeatedly in all the major media markets. But The
Washington Post and the New York Times only mentioned his name in their lists of
the dead with nothing about his act of valor. They�d rather report how
terribly we�ve treated the terrorists at Guantanamo Bay and Abu Ghraib, or the
scandal of Pvt. Lynndie England�s photo ops.
All veterans are
worth remembering. All are worthy of honor.
And whether Peralta ever
gets the coveted Congressional Medal or not, he�s already received a great honor
from his comrades in arms who all agree he deserves it, and from Jesus Christ,
who knew something about sacrifice: "My command is this: Love each other as I
have loved you.
Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his
life for his friends (--Jesus, John
15:12-14).