Students speak with the family of the USS Rafael Peralta's namesake during a video meeting at the middle school at Yokosuka Naval Base, Japan, Wednesday, Oct. 11, 2023. (Jennessa Davey/Stars and Stripes)
YOKOSUKA NAVAL BASE, Japan — Students and teachers gathered here this week for a bittersweet conversation with the family of a fallen Marine who became the namesake of a guided-missile destroyer.
Sgt. Rafael Peralta, originally of Mexico City, was killed in 2004 during the Second Battle of Fallujah, shot by insurgents while clearing houses in the war-torn city. Before he died, the 25-year-old managed to cover a fragmentation grenade with his body, saving several Marines nearby.
For his actions, Peralta was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart and Navy Cross, the second highest award for Marines and sailors. In 2012, the USS Rafael Peralta was named in his honor.
The ship is homeported at Yokosuka, where Peralta’s mother and sister discussed his life, service and legacy with about 100 students at Yokosuka Middle School. The conversation, held in English and Spanish via video conference, was part of Hispanic Heritage Month.
All students in attendance are part of Team Rafael Peralta. The middle school divides its approximately 750 pupils into teams named for the ships assigned to the U.S. 7th Fleet, headquartered at Yokosuka.
Karen Peralta described how her brother knew from a young age that he wanted to be a Marine — partially the result of seeing a commercial, and partially due to his patriotism.
“He loved this country. He was born in Mexico, but he is just a person of love,” she said. “For him, there is no culture difference, no racism. He saw everybody as one.”
Rosa Peralta, speaking in Spanish, described how proud she was of her son, and said she was “happy and blessed” to know that his legacy is being carried on with the ship and the school team bearing his name.
“It’s amazing and she has no words to explain to you guys how proud she feels for her son,” Karen Peralta said, translating for her mother.
Seventh-grader Angelina Falcon, of Honolulu, described the conversation as an emotional rollercoaster.
“It made me feel a bit sad; it was kind of heartbreaking,” she told Stars and Stripes after the event. “It was like, just wow, with all the awards he had and everything, it was pretty exciting there. And then those other moments are kind of sad. It was back and forth.”
School librarian Barbara Hertz said she jumped at the chance to have the Peralta family speak with the students and explained that the event was a pleasant surprise for the Peralta family.
“We’ve been emailing back and forth about this for a while now, and they were thrilled; they were moved,” she said after the event. “Karen said that her mother was so moved and had no idea that our school had this whole team named after their child.”
Cmdr. Isaia Infante of the guided-missile destroyer USS Ralph Johnson salutes the USS Rafael Peralta in the South China Sea, Sept. 28, 2023. (Jamaal Liddell/U.S. Navy)
The USS Rafael Peralta has been homeported at Yokosuka since 2021. Commissioned in San Diego in July 2017, it is one of the Navy’s newest destroyers and is outfitted with the Aegis Baseline 9 combat system.
The ship can deploy with two MH-60 Seahawk helicopters and “has improved ballistic missile defense, anti-air and surface warfare capabilities,” Naval Forces Japan said in a statement when it moved to 7th Fleet.
