The U.S. Military Academy West Point posthumously admitted Parkland, Fla., student Peter Wang to its class of 2025 Tuesday, honoring the Junior Army Reserve Officers鈥� Training Corps member who died helping his classmates to safety during a shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on Feb. 14.
Wang was wearing his uniform the day of the shooting, classmates said, and he held a door open for his peers so that they could get out of the building. Seventeen people, including Wang, died in the shootings.
Two other members of the JROTC鈥擜laina Petty and Martin Duque, both 14鈥攁lso died in the shootings. The Army honored all three students with its Tuesday, the Miami Herald reports. Wang was buried in his uniform, wearing the medal.
Wang鈥檚 relatives told the Sun-Sentinel that the 15-year-old had always
鈥淥ne of USMA鈥檚 priorities is to develop leaders of character who are committed to the values of Duty, Honor & Country,鈥� the military academy said in a tweet. 鈥淧eter Wang鈥檚 actions on February 14 are an example of those principles & the academy honors his dream of being a West Point cadet with a 2025 letter of acceptance.鈥�
One of USMA鈥檚 priorities is to develop leaders of character who are committed to the values of Duty, Honor & Country. Peter Wang鈥檚 actions on February 14 are an example of those principles & the academy honors his dream of being a West Point cadet with a 2025 letter of acceptance
-- US Military Academy (@WestPoint_USMA)
鈥淲est Point has given posthumous offers of admissions in very rare instances for those candidates or potential candidates whose actions exemplified the tenets of Duty, Honor and Country,鈥� the school said in a statement.
A WPLG reporter interviewed a student about Wang outside of his funeral Tuesday.
鈥淚 want him to be remembered as a hero because that鈥檚 exactly how he was.鈥� A classmate remembers Peter Wang at his funeral today.
-- Ian Margol Local 10 (@IanMargol)
Photo: Photos of JROTC member Peter Wang, sit among candles at a memorial to victims of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Shooting in Parkland, Fla.--Evie Blad, Education Week.