Pentagon won’t revisit Medal of Honor request

SAN DIEGO (AP) - The Pentagon says it will not revisit a request to upgrade a fallen California Marine’s Navy Cross to the Medal of Honor.

U-T San Diego reports (https://bit.ly/1l926Ka ) Defense Department officials said Friday that the totality of evidence in Sgt. Rafael Peralta’s case did not meet the “proof beyond a reasonable doubt” standard for the military’s highest honor.

In 2012 the Pentagon said it supported the decision of former Defense Secretary Robert Gates, who honored Peralta with the Navy Cross instead of the Medal of Honor.

Gates ruled that Peralta was not conscious when his body smothered a grenade in Iraq in 2004, saving the lives of other Marines.

Supporters in Peralta’s hometown of San Diego, on Capitol Hill and in the Navy have persistently campaigned for the top award.

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Information from: U-T San Diego, https://www.utsandiego.com