The San Diego City Council will declare Tuesday to be Sergeant Peralta Day in the city in recognition of the commissioning Saturday of the guided missile destroyer USS Rafael Peralta.
Family members of the Marine hero will appear in the council chambers Tuesday as guests of Councilmember David Alvarez, who will present the resolution.
Peralta, a Mexican immigrant and graduate of Morse High School, was killed in combat in Iraq on Nov. 15, 2004. During the second battle of Fallujah, he fell on a live grenade, saving nearby Marines.
He was posthumously awarded the Navy Cross, the service’s highest honor.
The Navy’s newest guided missile destroyer is named in his honor, and will be commissioned Saturday at Naval Air Station North Island.
Peralta is buried at Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery in San Diego.