Three Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps. cadets who were killed during last week’s shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, will each be given the JROTC Medal of Heroism award in honor of their lives and sacrifices.
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But one of those young cadets — Peter Wang — was also given another posthumous honor: the U.S. Military Academy West Point granted him admission and a certificate of appointment; the document reads “class of 2025.” It was Wang’s dream to attend the military academy, as Fox News reported.
West Point said that the decision was made to honor Wang and that such posthumous admissions offers are “very rare,” but that they are granted for “candidates or potential candidate’s whose actions exemplified the tenets of Duty, Honor and Country.”
Here's the West Point certificate of appointment for Marjory Stoneman Douglas shooting victim Peter Wang, 15. https://t.co/vzMw5fdGwT pic.twitter.com/yXM4rnASoz
— Brittany Wallman (@BrittanyWallman) February 20, 2018
Wang and fellow students Alaina Petty and Martin Duque will all receive the aforementioned Army medals. Petty’s family received the medal on Monday, Wang’s family received one on Tuesday and Duque’s family will get their medal on Saturday, according to The Washington Examiner.
As for Wang, his family reportedly requested that he be buried in his JROTC uniform along with his medal.
“The JROTC Heroism medal will be on his uniform, but a second ‘keepsake’ medal will be given to his family,” Army spokesman Michael Maddox told Fox News.
I’ve directed the @FLGuard to honor the three fallen JROTC members from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. @FLGuard members will be attending funeral services and paying respect to these JROTC members, their families and loved ones. https://t.co/0w8Lnuh5ro
— Rick Scott (@SenRickScott) February 20, 2018
Florida Gov. Rick Scott tweeted on Tuesday that he would be sending the Florida National Guard to the funerals of Wang, Petty and Duque to pay respects.
As Faithwire previously reported, a White House petition that was launched on Friday made the case for Wang to be fully honored for his sacrifices. That plea had attracted more than 33,000 signatures as of Tuesday.
“Peter Wang, 15, was one of the students killed in Florida this past week. He was a JROTC Cadet who was last seen, in uniform, holding doors open and thus allowing other students, teachers, and staff to flee to safety,” the description reads. “Wang was killed in the process. His selfless and heroic actions have led to the survival of dozens in the area.”
The text concludes, “Wang died a hero, and deserves to be treated as such, and deserves a full honors military burial.”
https://twitter.com/JimLaPorta/status/966039582142877696