While the 24 older veterans of past conflicts saw their awards upgraded to the nation’s highest honor for valor in combat, the family of a Marine who died heroically in Iraq failed to achieve a similar result. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel declined a request to upgrade Marine Corps Sgt. Rafael Peralta’s Navy Cross award to the Medal of Honor Feb. 21, citing insufficient evidence that his actions met the higher threshold. The decision came after three separate agencies reviewed Peralta’s case, the Pentagon said. According to official reports, Peralta earned the Navy Cross in November 2004 during the battle for Fallujah. Already severely wounded, Peralta dove on a grenade and bore the brunt of its explosion, saving the lives of his fellow Marines. The blast killed him. The unsuccessful effort to upgrade Peralta’s medal began a year after his death.