Navy ship christened in honor of fallen Marine hero from San Diego

In a ceremony in English and Spanish, a new U.S. warship was christened Saturday in honor of a Marine from San Diego who was killed in Iraq.

The Navy guided-missile destroyer Rafael Peralta was christened at the General Dynamics Bath Iron Works in Bath, Maine.

Peralta was killed Nov. 15, 2004, during the second battle of Fallouja and is credited with saving the lives of several Marines during house-to-house fighting. He was posthumously awarded the Navy Cross, although Marines insist he should have received the Medal of Honor.

Peralta’s mother, Rosa, the ship’s sponsor, asked God to bless the ship and keep its crew safe.

Navy Secretary Ray Mabus said naming the ship for Peralta “will ensure that the heroism, service and sacrifice of Sgt. Peralta will be honored and remembered.”

Peralta’s brother, Ricardo, a former Marine, told NPR that the ship’s motto, “Courage Until the End,” is fitting. “My brother defined that,” he said.

The Rafael Peralta is the fourth destroyer to be named for a U.S. military member killed in Iraq or Afghanistan. Marine Jason Dunham and Navy SEALs Michael Murphy and Michael Monsoor were the others.

Rosa Peralta crashed a bottle of champagne on the ship’s bow and presented her son’s Navy Cross to the ship’s captain for display on the ship.

Peralta, an immigrant from Mexico, enlisted in the Marine Corps on the day he received his green card. He was 25 when he was killed leading Marines into a house to clear out heavily armed and barricaded insurgents.

Peralta’s sister, Icela Peralta Donald, the ship’s matron of honor, told the Associated Press: “I feel like it’s going to carry his spirit.”

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