Arleigh Burke-class destroyer USS Rafael Peralta (DDG-115) proudly bears the name of U.S. Marine Sergeant Rafael Peralta, who received the Navy Cross posthumously for his heroic actions during Operation Iraqi Freedom in November 2004.
Peralta was born 7 April 1979 in Mexico City, Mexico. He graduated from San Diego’s Morse High School in 1997, but had to wait to receive his green card in 2000 before he could enlist. On the very same day he received his green card, Peralta enlisted in the Marine Corps. He later received his U.S. citizenship while serving in the Marines. After attending basic training and completing Infantry school, he received the military occupational specialty rifleman.
On 15 November 2004, Peralta was heavily engaged in Operation al Fajr—also known as the second Battle of Fallujah—successfully clearing six houses that morning with his squad. At the seventh house, the point man in the stack opened the door to a back room and immediately came under close-range automatic weapons fire from multiple insurgents. While attempting to get out of the line of fire, Peralta was severely wounded. As the insurgents fled the building, they threw a grenade that came to rest near Peralta’s head. Without hesitation, Peralta pulled the grenade to his body absorbing the brunt of the blast saving the lives of fellow Marines that were only a few feet away. Peralta succumbed to his wounds, but heroically gave his life to his fellow Marines and the country that he loved.