Pat Tillman 2.0: Tale of Sgt. Peralta’s ‘Iraq War Heroism’ in Fallujah Was Total Fiction
Source: 21stcenturywire.com
21st Century Wire says…
He was the Hispanic-American face of the Iraq War. His death was tragedy for his colleagues, friends and family. US Marine Sgt. Rafael Peralta was killed during the Battle of Fallujah in 2004, from a bullet to the head.This is a fact, but what was added on top of this story… has now been exposed as a total fiction.
Following his death, the US Navy awarded Peralta the distinguished Navy Cross, then named a US destroyer after him, and there was even talk of displaying his combat rifle at the Marine Corps museum in Quantico, Virginia.
The legend goes as follows: seconds before his death, Peralta scooped a grenade under himself – dramatically saving the lives of fellow US infantrymen. A great American tale of war heroism for sure, but now US military forensic investigators say that this was impossible.
Why was the Hollywood-style grenade script written in the first place? According to two former Marines who were with Peralta in the house when he was shot said the story was concocted spontaneously in the minutes after he was mortally wounded — likely because several of the men in the unit feared they might have been the ones who shot him. Just like the well publicized legend of Pat Tillman, the Peralta case looks like another instance of not-so-friendly fire.
Sgt. Peralta joins the ranks of the deceased Pat Tillman (photo, left), and combat survivor Jessica Lynch – as three prime examples of a creative history-telling, and a common US practice during times of war: military ‘hero-washing’.
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Read the full article at: 21centurywire.com
