Rafael peralta navy cross citation

Recipient of the Navy Cross

Rafael Peralta (April 7, 1979 – November 15, 2004) was a United States Marine killed in combat during the Second Battle of Fallujah during the Iraq War.

In September 2008 his family was notified that he was awarded the Navy Cross, the second-highest award a United States Marine can receive.^[1] In February 2012, Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus announced that a new Arleigh Burke-classdestroyer would be named USS Rafael Peralta.

Early life and career

Peralta was born on April 7, 1979, in Mexico City. The son of Rafael and Rosa Peralta and the oldest of four (his siblings are Icela, Karen, and Ricardo), he immigrated to the United States.^[2] Peralta's father died in a workplace accident, leaving him head of the household.^[3] After his 1997 graduation from Morse High School in San Diego he attended San Diego City College and served in the California Conservation Corps as a crewleader from 19