A Kane'ohe Marine who died saving his colleagues in Iraq two years ago has been nominated for the Medal of Honor, military officials confirmed yesterday.

If the nomination is approved after a lengthy and vigorous investigation, Sgt. Rafael Peralta would receive the nation's highest military honor, said Lt. Binford Strickland, a spokesman for Marine Corps Base Hawai'i.

Peralta, 25, died during a military operation in Fallujah, Iraq, in November 2004. Witnesses at the time said Peralta was shot several times while clearing a building of insurgents. Lying on the floor, he then clutched a grenade to his body after it had been tossed into the house, shielding several fellow Marines from the blast.

"What he did on the day was an awe-inspiring act of selfless sacrifice and faithfulness to his fellow Marines," National Review editor Rich Lowry wrote in a magazine column last year. "The only way we can honor Sgt. Peralta's heroism is to tell his story and remember his name."

Strickland said he did not know who nominated Peralta for the Medal of Honor, but nominations must come from within the military's chain of command or from a member of Congress.

The award, established by Congress in 1862, is given to a "person who, while a member of the Armed Services, distinguishes himself conspicuously by gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty ... The deed performed must have been one of personal bravery or self-sacrifice so conspicuous as to clearly distinguish the individual above his comrades and must have involved risk of life."

Fewer than 3,500 of the medals have been awarded throughout U.S. history

Peralta was born in Mexico, graduated from high school in San Diego and became a U.S. citizen in 2000, when he joined the Marines.

He was a member of the 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, which arrived in Iraq just one month before he was killed.

Family members said he volunteered to go to Iraq, and a combat corespondent who witnessed Peralta's death said that as a platoon scout he could have stayed back in safety while his squad went into combat.

"He was just so proud to be a Marine," his younger sister Icela Donald told the Advertiser after his death. "It was his choice to go."

Reach Mike Leidemann at mleidemann@honoluluadvertiser.com.