Memorial Day: Remember Sergeant (USMC) Rafael Peralta

Rafael Peralta was born April 7, 1979 in Mexico City. He graduated from San Diego's Morse High School in 1997. But he had to wait to receive his green card before he could enlist. In 2000, he received it, and on that very day he enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps as a rifleman. He would later become a U.S. citizen while serving. 

In 2001, Peralta was deployed overseas when his father died in a workplace accident. He returned home to San Diego where he was stationed at Camp Pendleton while he took care of family affairs. In 2003, he transferred to Marine Corp Base Hawaii at Kaneohe Bay, and reenlisted. He was assigned to 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division. In 2004, he along with his other battalion mates, were deployed to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. He was a scout leader.

On November 15, 2004, Peralta and his squad were heavily engaged in Operation al Fajr, commonly known as the second Battle of Fallujah. They successfully cleared six houses that morning. At the seventh house, the point man in the squad opened the door to a back room and immediately came under close-range automatic weapons fire from multiple insurgents. It was an ambush.

While attempting to get out of the line of fire, Peralta was severely wounded. As the insurgents fled the building, one threw a grenade that came to rest near Peralta's head. Without hesitation, he pulled the grenade to his body to absorb the brunt of the blast saving the lives of the Marines that were only a few feet away. Peralta succumbed to his wounds.

He pulled the live grenade to his body to absorb the blast which he knew would kill him and save his fellow Marines. 

Let's pause for a moment.

For his actions, Sgt Peralta was posthumously awarded the Navy Cross and Purple Heart. He is buried at Fort Rosecrans National Cemetary in San Diego. In 2007, the command post for the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit at Camp Hansen in Okinawa named "Peralta Hall" in his honor. 

To further honor the heroism of Sgt Peralta, the U.S. Navy, in 2017, commissioned an Arleigh Burke destroyer the U.S.S. Rafael Peralta (DDG-115). On the ship's website, in welcoming new sailors to the Peralta, the ship's captain states: "Our ship emblazons proudly the name of an American hero, a Marine who sacrificed his own life so others might live. Our motto, 'Fortis Ad Finem', which translates to 'Courageous to the End', is a testament of his dedication to his country and his fellow Marines. Every Sailor in Rafael Peralta must strive to earn the right to represent such fortitude and devotion."

As you enjoy the long Memorial Day weekend, I ask that you remember Sgt Peralta, and all of the more than 4,300 Americans that gave their last full measure of devotion during the Second Iraqi Conflict.

~ Jeff

Sources: Sergeant Rafael Peralta (navy.mil)

Welcome (navy.mil)

Iraq War - The surge and the end of the war | Britannica

Be all that you can be.

Banking’s largest investment is in its people. I have recently written about how critical our people are to the bank’s success. Executives often lament to me about the lack of quality, experienced bankers in the marketplace. They recall fondly the days when large banks would put recent college graduates through management trainee programs, credit schools, and the like. This created a healthy pool of qualified candidates that wanted to move from large banks to community financial institutions.

Those programs are gone now, and their alumnae are aging. This leaves a gap between the seasoned banking professional, and the entry level banker. Making matters worse, the media coverage of our industry portrays us as a bunch of unethical miscreants, making it difficult to attract quality people. While this portrayal hurts our efforts to attract the best and the brightest, our self-imposed obsession with “experienced” bankers plays a much more significant role, in my opinion.

Imagine if Southwest Airlines, in its infancy, searched for an airline executive to run the company. Would we have the innovative, point-to-point, low-fare strategy we have today? Herb Kelleher, one of the founders and former CEO, was an attorney. What if IBM, in a tailspin, hired an experienced tech executive in 1992? Instead they hired the former CEO of RJR Nabisco, Lou Gerstner, who led them back to relevancy. Nabisco!

Why we are so obsessed with “experienced” bankers is beyond me. Given the challenges my clients are having with their current employee base, one would think to take a fresh set of eyes to our hiring practices. On this Memorial Day weekend, let me make a suggestion.

I spent seven years in the US Navy. I was a cryptologist. This has no relation to banking. I did not learn how to calculate a debt service coverage ratio. I did not learn how to be proficient at the Jack Henry Silverlake system.

Here is what I learned: How to manage, and quite often manage more people than most bank executives today; how to lead, and lead people from varied backgrounds; how to follow; how to learn; how to teach; how to speak; how to write; how to counsel; how to give and accept criticism; how to work under pressure; how to be flexible; how to hold myself and others to high standards; how to work hard; how to persevere; how to win.

Every military veteran can speak of similar experiences and skills. We are not “experienced” bankers. But could we be?

In community financial institutions’ quest to remain relevant to our customers and communities, perhaps we have to look elsewhere for the type of employees that will carry us into the future. Limiting ourselves to a shrinking pool of aging candidates only artificially increases their salary demands, lowers the quality of our employees, and strengthens the status quo.

Be different. Be relevant. Think to the future. Hire a vet!

- Jeff