Trenton VFW Post 12165

09/01/2026

He got his green card and enlisted the next day.

Not a citizen yet. Didn’t have to serve. Rafael Peralta, born in Mexico City, wanted to be an American so badly he walked into a recruiter the day after legal residency hit his mailbox in 2000. He later became a citizen. He kept a copy of the Constitution and his boot camp diploma on the wall of his San Diego house.

By November 2004 he was a sergeant in Fallujah the worst house-to-house fight American troops had seen since Vietnam.
He didn’t have to be on the next mission. After three days of clearing rooms, he volunteered to fill an under-strength squad. The night before, he stood watch so other Marines could sleep.
Morning of November 15. Seventh house of the day. Door to a back room. Ambush. Automatic fire at close range. Peralta went down, shot and dying.
Insurgents broke contact and threw a frag back into the room. It landed near him. A few feet from Marines who had nowhere to go.
The men in that room say he reached out, pulled that gr***de under his own body, and took the blast.
Cpl. Robert Reynolds was about five feet away. “If he didn’t sweep it underneath his body, I would be de*d.”

As many as six Marines walked out of that house because of what he did in his last seconds.
The Marine Corps and the Navy recommended the Medal of Honor. Three defense secretaries said no, citing forensics that questioned whether he was still conscious. He received the Navy Cross instead. In 2017 the Navy put his name on a destroyer USS Rafael Peralta.

His mother held out a long time. The Marines who were in that room never changed their story.
This year lawmakers tried again. Reps. Darrell Issa and Juan Vargas introduced H.R. 8973, the Sergeant Rafael Peralta Medal of Honor Authorization Act, so the President can award it despite the time limits. The men who survived that room have spent two decades bearing witness. They want that testimony honored.

He chose this country. Then he chose his brothers over himself.

Whatever hangs next to his name, the Marines who left that house alive already know what he was.
Say his name. Sgt. Rafael Peralta. United States Marine Corps.

— Veteran Up

08/15/2026

Explore the story of Vietnam's first all-Black special ops team in the documentary, Soul Patrol, set for theatrical release. | Read More ⬇️

08/09/2026

1/5 Tribe,

We want to recognize and congratulate one of our own, Lt. Gen. Calvert L. Worth Jr.

As a fellow member of 1st Battalion, 5th Marines, Lt. Gen. Worth continues to represent the proud legacy, leadership, and fighting spirit of the Fighting Fifth. His career and continued service are a great source of pride for everyone who has worn the 1/5 insignia.

Lt. Gen. Calvert L. Worth Jr. has officially moved to a new three hat command following his II MEF tour.

His new billet is:

Commander, U.S. Marine Corps Forces Command (MARFORCOM)
Commanding General, Fleet Marine Force Atlantic (FMFLANT)
Commander, Marine Forces North (MARFORNORTH)

He assumed these duties after relinquishing command of II Marine Expeditionary Force to Lt. Gen. Robert C. Fulford during the II MEF change of command ceremony on August 4, 2026.

This is one of the Marine Corps’ most significant operational three star commands. In this role, Lt. Gen. Worth is responsible for:

Readiness and force generation for Marine forces assigned to the Atlantic.
Providing trained and ready Marine forces to combatant commanders worldwide.
Serving as the Marine component commander for United States Northern Command, responsible for homeland defense and defense support to civil authorities.
Overseeing Marine Corps forces stationed throughout the eastern United States.

For Marines from 1st Battalion, 5th Marines, this is especially meaningful because Lt. Gen. Worth previously served with the battalion as:

Company Commander
Operations Officer
Battalion Executive Officer

His return to a Fleet Marine Force command continues a career that began with leadership in infantry units like 1/5 before advancing through regimental, division, MEF, and now Marine Forces Command.

Semper Fi and MPOD,
1/5 Association

08/04/2026

All gave some, some gave ALL!

07/25/2026

All gave some. Some gave all.

THEY DIDN’T JUST REMOVE FOUR NAMES FROM A LIST.

They tried to shrink the political cost of a war.

Four American service members died after the administration had declared a ceasefire:

1st Lt. Tyler James Feehan
Sgt. Angel S. Rampersad
Pvt. Isabella Gonzales
Sgt. Michael Emanuel Swinton

And then their names disappeared from the Pentagon’s official casualty count.

The Pentagon says the discrepancy involved temporary data problems. Other reporting says officials linked the removals to the ceasefire period. Either way, the result was the same:

Four fallen Americans vanished from the number the public was shown.

Think about that.

The administration attended their dignified transfer.

Saluted their flag-draped coffins.

Called them heroes.

Then the official accounting stopped counting them.

A ceasefire is not real because politicians announce it.

And a death does not become less connected to a war because the date is politically inconvenient.

These four were not rounding errors.

They were sons and daughters.

Friends and partners.

Soldiers who served their country and never came home.

Say their names.