Marine Corps

A bipartisan group of California legislators has asked the secretary of the Navy to reconsider a request from the Marine Corps that the Medal of Honor be awarded posthumously to a Marine from San Diego killed in Iraq. The group says newly discovered video and a report from a noted pathologist merit a review of the decision by then-Defense Secretary Robert Gates not to recommend that the Medal of Honor be awarded to Sgt. Rafael Peralta . Peralta, 25, an immigrant from Mexico, was killed in November 2004 while Marines were clearing insurgents from barricaded homes in Fallouja.

Some described the big-shouldered Marine's soft way of talking, others the discipline he expected from his troops. All spoke of the religious faith he wore as openly as his uniform. "He wasn't the kind of guy that went to church on Sunday and on Monday was out raising hell," said Nils Bjorn, a civilian who worked with Sgt. Manuel L. Loggins Jr. at Camp Pendleton. "He was a religious guy who put his family first. " Of Loggins' death earlier this month, he added: "It does seem kind of senseless.

Reporting from Camp Pendleton -- Last night might have been the most stressful of Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich's life since he became a defendant in arguably the largest war-crime case from the Iraq war: the killing of 24 unarmed civilians by Marines in the Euphrates River town of Haditha in 2005. The 31-year-old native of Meriden, Conn., had to decide whether to take a deal offered by Marine prosecutors or continue fighting for a full acquittal and an honorable discharge. If he takes a deal, Wuterich could immediately leave the Marine Corps and continue life as a divorced father of three daughters.

Reporting from Camp Pendleton -- Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich and the jurors in his court-martial are all wearing crisp Marine uniforms. All have had combat experience. And all have known Marines killed in combat. But the defendant and those who may decide his fate come from different eras in the Marine Corps mission in Iraq, divided by that November morning in 2005 when 24 unarmed civilians in the town of Haditha were killed by Marines in Wuterich's squad. All eight jurors served after that event, which scandalized much of the American public and shook the Marine Corps.

Christmas Day was painful for Leslie Frokjer. That morning, she stepped away from her family briefly and tearfully reread her husband's last, loving letter, sent from Afghanistan just days before he died. It didn't get easier when she emerged from her bedroom to be with her parents, grandparents and 2-month-old son. Looking into the baby's eyes, she was reminded again of her husband and that her boy will never know his father or spend a Christmas at his side. Marine Sgt. Chad Frokjer was killed June 30 when he stepped on an improvised explosive device in southern Afghanistan's Helmand province, on the Pakistani border.

A judge ruled Wednesday that the federal government should pay $17.8 million to the grief-stricken survivors of four family members killed when a Marine Corps jet crashed into their San Diego home in 2008. U.S. District Court Judge Jeffrey Miller made his ruling based on three days of testimony from family members and evidence presented by lawyers for the government. The family had initially sought $56 million. The Marine Corps admitted responsibility for the Dec. 8, 2008, crash of an F/A-18D Hornet that destroyed the Yoon family home in the University City neighborhood.

Just after graduating from San Ramon Valley High School, Joshua D. Corral joined the Marine Corps, leaving behind his close-knit Bay Area hometown of Danville. A little more than a year later, he was brought back home to a hero's welcome, with more than 3,000 of his neighbors somberly saluting as a motorcade bearing his casket proceeded down flag-draped streets. His death Nov. 18 was announced at his old school's Friday night football game. In text messages, emails and hushed hallway conversations, word had already spread: The fun-loving student everyone knew as "Chachi" had been killed in combat in southern Afghanistan's Helmand province, on the Pakistani border.

A roundup of entertainment headlines for Monday: Justin Timberlake is the "belle" of the Marine Corps Ball after accepting a YouTube invitation from a Marine who asked the star to be her date. ( Los Angeles Times and Daily Mail ) "Immortals" conquers Adam Sandler and Leonardo DiCaprio at the box office. ( Los Angeles Times ) "The Hunger Games" trailer promises plenty of action. ( MTV ) The Oscars Governors Awards honored Oprah Winfrey, James Earle Jones and makeup artist Dick Smith.