Results of an investigation into Sgt. Rafael Peralta's death in Iraq show that Marine Corps officials steadfastly supported giving a Medal of Honor to the Kane'ohe Bay Marine, even with some contradictions in evidence and a friendly-fire gunshot.

At least four Marines with Peralta on Nov. 15, 2004, in Fallujah, Iraq, stated in written reports that they saw the short and stocky Marine nicknamed "Rafa" pull a grenade to his body after it had bounced into a room.

The Medal of Honor recommendation went through examinations by the Marine Corps, U.S. Central Command and the Department of the Navy before being rejected by five individuals appointed by Defense Secretary Robert Gates to review the nomination.

The news was delivered Sept. 17, leaving the Peralta family in San Diego stunned and angry, and some fellow Marines looking for answers as to why the Pentagon reversed itself, deciding to award Peralta the Navy Cross instead.

The 282 pages of an investigation into Peralta's death during the Battle of Fallujah, released by the U.S. military, refer almost exclusively to a single Marine gunshot that hit Peralta in the back of the head, and no other gunshot wounds.

A Dec. 20, 2004, autopsy report by the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology does note a "gunshot wound to the chest," but later reports reference only the gunshot to the head, and it and the ballistic injuries from the Iraqi grenade are listed as the cause of death.

Col. Eric Berg III, an Army pathologist, believed that "the head gunshot wound would have been immediately incapacitating and nearly instantly fatal. He (Peralta) could not have executed any meaningful motions."

But four other medical experts stated that they believed that Peralta, 25, could have retained mental faculties, and could have knowingly scooped the grenade under his body, thereby shielding other Marines from the blast.

JAN. 2, 2005

"It is my solemn honor and privilege to forward this investigation for your consideration, with my strongest recommendation that Sgt. Peralta be awarded the Medal of Honor posthumously."

— Commanding officer, Battalion Landing Team 1/3

The strong emotions generated since the Navy Cross decision was announced haven't abated, and have brought into debate the process used to evaluate Peralta's Medal of Honor recommendation, as the family holds out hope the decision will be reversed.

"The scrutiny they put this Peralta thing under, I doubt there would be a Medal of Honor that would be awarded (to anyone) with all this CSI (crime scene investigation)," said George Sabga, a California attorney and retired combat Marine who has acted as a go-between for the Peralta family.

"There was a time when witness statements carried weight. Now it's all CSI, and 'Did Peralta know what he was doing?' Come on."

David Donald, Peralta's brother-in-law, said he's still not sure why the medal was downgraded.

"Honestly, I don't know," the San Diego man said. "The only thing I can guess is the friendly fire. Other than that, it states it for itself. His actions were what they were, and you can't take those away."

Sabga believes the Pentagon felt it had the dilemma of "now what are we going to do? Peralta was shot by another Marine. How are we going to explain this?"

Sabga said the U.S. military "seems to be talking out both sides of their mouth."

The Navy Cross citation letter signed by Navy Secretary Donald C. Winter and presented to Peralta's mother, Rosa, states that the Iraqi grenade came to rest near Peralta's head.

"Without hesitation and with complete disregard for his own personal safety, Sgt. Peralta reached out and pulled the grenade to his body, absorbing the brunt of the blast and shielding fellow Marines only feet away," the citation states.

Sabga notes that the citation says "he cradled the grenade, but they are also saying there's no way he could have done it. Which one is it?"

MARCH 3, 2005

"I believe Sgt. Peralta made a conscious, heroic decision to cover the grenade and minimize the effects he knew it would have on the rest of his Marine team. As he lay injured, rather than using his strength in an attempt to save himself, he knowingly and selflessly opted to give his life for his fellow Marines."

— Then-Marine Maj. Gen. Richard Natonski

The Defense Department recently said in a statement that after a rigorous review, including interviewing experts, re-creating the event and inspecting the evidence, each of the five individuals appointed by Gates independently concluded that the evidence did not support the award of the Medal of Honor.

Sgt. Catcher Cuts The Rope, a Hawai'i Marine who was a few blocks away in Fallujah when his friend Peralta was killed, said the medal downgrade "has really brought up a lot of pain for us."

"The Battle of Fallujah was difficult," Cuts The Rope said. It was one of the hardest-fought battles for Marines in Iraq, and compared to fighting in Hue city in Vietnam.

He, too, says he believes that Peralta isn't receiving the Medal of Honor, the nation's highest military award, because the Marine was downed by friendly fire.

"The (Bush) administration doesn't want to acknowledge that sometimes (expletive) happens in combat. The men and women on the ground know that," said Cuts The Rope, a Native American who was wounded in Fallujah and has been medically retired from the Corps.

Donald, Peralta's brother-in-law, said Rosa Peralta "wants to see what comes about, before she makes any decision" on accepting the Navy Cross for her son, and no date has been picked for a ceremony.

A letter was sent to President Bush by Hawai'i's congressional delegation and a bipartisan group from California's delegation, asking for a review of the decision.

A Medal of Honor nomination typically comes through the military, but can be made by Congress.

Marine Lt. Gen. Richard Natonski met with Rosa Peralta to tell her a Navy Cross would be awarded.

"He asked her how she wanted it presented to her," Donald said. "She could go to Washington or they could come out here (to California) and do it at one of the Marine bases. So she actually needs to let them know."

Rafael Peralta, who came to the U.S. without documentation, enlisted in the Marines the day he got his green card. He later became a U.S. citizen.

JUNE 20, 2005

"The only way a grenade which comes to rest outside your body but within arm's reach can create a blast pattern under your lower left flank ... is if something or someone moves it. There is no evidence that anything moved the grenade. There is eyewitness testimony that Sgt. Peralta moved the grenade."

— Investigating officer on Peralta's actions

Tragedy is not new to the Peralta family. Peralta's father had died three years earlier in a work-related vehicle accident, and his fiancée died in a vehicle accident in Mexico.

Peralta, who was one of about 1,000 Marines with the 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment in and around Fallujah in 2004, volunteered to clear houses with his old squad, which was at less than full strength.

As seven Marines fanned out in one house, as many as three insurgents started firing.

According to the Marine Reserve major assigned to investigate Peralta's actions, none of the Marines actually saw Peralta get hit.

A lance corporal who was one of the Marines in the house testified on a Dec. 19, 2004, witness form that Peralta fell face first, with his weapon beneath him.

Most names were blacked out in the released investigation documents for unexplained reasons.

As the insurgents ran out of a back door, one underhanded a yellow grenade into the room, according to the testimony.

The grenade came to a stop "right by" Peralta's head, and as the unidentified lance corporal dropped to the ground, he said, he saw Peralta use his right arm to "scoop the grenade into the small of his right shoulder."

"I believe that if Sgt. Peralta didn't grab the grenade that it would have seriously injured me or most likely killed me along with (three other Marines," he said. "If Sgt. Peralta was still alive and I (could) talk to him, I would thank him a million times. It was an unselfish act. He didn't have to do what he did but he loved us."

At least three other Marines said Peralta pulled in the grenade. One said he "pulled the grenade into himself," another said he "hugged the grenade," and a third said Peralta "grabbed the grenade and pulled it underneath him."

According to the investigating officer, the grenade was of low yield and it would be rare for shrapnel to penetrate a flak jacket.

The cause of death was listed as "gunshot and ballistic injuries of the head."

Another Marine, who responded to a subsequent call for assistance at the house, said a lance corporal walking around outside the house tearfully said he had accidentally shot Peralta.

But a year after Peralta's death, several key Marines involved said they were not aware of any such statement being made.

One Marine who went to the aid of those injured in the grenade explosion said a couple of days later that there was an argument as "to whether or not Sgt. Peralta jumped on the grenade or not."

Marines who were in the house, however, stated they were not pressured to embellish Peralta's actions.

On June 20, 2005, the investigating officer in Peralta's death, who also is an attorney, entered a court declaration in which he said his recommendation remained that Peralta should receive the Medal of Honor.

"In the case at hand, we have four physicians of excellent pedigree who state to a medical certainty that Sgt. Peralta was medically capable of placing the grenade under himself," the major wrote. "We also have a physician of excellent pedigree who disagrees."

A staff neurosurgeon at the Naval Medical Center in San Diego said the bullet that caused the brain injury likely was a lower-velocity ricochet, and that it "is very possible that Sgt. Peralta could have reached for the grenade after his initial gunshot wound."

APRIL 16, 2005

"After reviewing the final autopsy diagnoses ... it is clear that Sgt. Peralta's head, body and extremities were sufficiently intact to be conscious and capable of stuffing a grenade with either upper extremity."

— Chairman, Neurosciences, Naval Medical Center, San Diego

The investigating officer also noted that "a question has arisen as to inconsistencies in witness testimony." Some of those questions centered on the conflicting testimony Marines gave as to which side of Peralta the grenade landed on, and how long it took for the grenade to explode.

The officer said the actual side on which the grenade came to rest was not critical. What was critical was that the grenade exploded under Peralta after he reportedly intentionally moved it there, the officer stated.

"While there can be no doubt that the grenade was moved, all the witnesses who were in a position to observe so unanimously state it was Sgt. Peralta who moved the grenade," the investigating officer said.

In July 2005, the commanding officer of the 1st Battalion, 3rd Marines, at Kane'ohe Bay, Peralta's unit, said the Medal of Honor recommendation had been returned to his command based on the opinion of Army pathologist Berg that Peralta couldn't have made the conscious decision to pull in the grenade.

Another reviewer had suggested the movement was a "spasm" misinterpreted in the "fog of war."

But the commanding officer again pointed to the testimony of the other medical experts, who said Peralta could have been capable of such an action, and to the fuse of the grenade being found in the front flap of Peralta's flak jacket, indicating the explosive was beneath his body.

The Defense Department said the Medal of Honor recommendation was forwarded to the defense secretary's office in October 2006.

"The standard for the Medal of Honor is extremely high and by instruction 'there must be no margin of doubt or possibility of error in awarding this honor,' " the Pentagon said.

"In this particular action, there was some contradictory evidence that warranted further review."

Wanting to ensure a "complete" and "impartial" examination, Gates took the additional step of asking five individuals to review the matter and give him their professional advice on the recommendation, the Pentagon said.

The five were a former Multi-National Corps Iraq commanding general, a Medal of Honor recipient, a civilian neurosurgeon and two civilian forensic pathologists.

Each had access to all the information plus detailed medical reports that were not available during the initial review, the Pentagon said.

After a "rigorous review, including interviewing subject matter experts, re-creating the event, and inspecting the evidence, each of the individuals independently recommended to the Secretary of Defense that the evidence did not support the award of the Medal of Honor," the Pentagon said. "We will not elaborate on the contradictory evidence or the review process."

Gates decided that Peralta's actions "did not meet the exacting standard necessary to support the award of the Medal of Honor," the Pentagon said. "Secretary Gates did not arrive at this decision lightly, (and) his decision in no way detracts from Sgt. Peralta's courageous and selfless sacrifice."