U.S. Army awards heroism medals to junior cadets killed in Florida shooting

Started by OldGuy, February 21, 2018, 01:36:02 AM

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OldGuy

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/us-army-awards-heroism-medals-to-junior-cadets-killed-parkland-florida-shooting-alaina-petty-peter-wang-martin-duque/

The U.S. Army is awarding its Medal of Heroism to three Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps (JROTC) cadets killed in last week's school shooting in Parkland, Florida, an Army spokesperson confirmed Tuesday. Alaina Petty, Peter Wang and Martin Duque were all students at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School where the deadly attack unfolded.

The Army awards the Medal of Heroism to JROTC cadets who perform "acts of heroism."

"The achievement must be an accomplishment so exceptional and outstanding that it clearly sets the individual apart from fellow students or from other persons in similar circumstances," the Army said in a statement. "The performance must have involved the acceptance of danger and extraordinary responsibilities, exemplifying praiseworthy fortitude and courage."

Wang was also posthumously admitted to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. The academy expressed condolences with Wang's family in a statement Tuesday.

"It was an appropriate way for USMA to honor this brave young man," the academy said Tuesday. "West Point has given posthumous offers of admissions in very rare instances for those candidates or potential candidate's whose actions exemplified the tenets of duty honor and country."

Petty's family received the award at her funeral service Monday and Wang's family was scheduled to receive his Tuesday at his service, Army spokesperson Michael Maddox said, adding that Wang's family requested their son be buried in his JROTC uniform. The Medal of Heroism will be on his uniform, Maddox added, and a second "keepsake" medal will be given to the family.

Duque's family will receive the medal Saturday during his funeral service, he said.

Wang, 15, was shot while he stood holding the door open so other students could escape the shooting. Ernie Rospierski, a history teacher at the high school, witnessed Wang's heroics on Wednesday.

Rospierski told "CBS This Morning" that he saw Wang "holding the door pushing kids through the door while bullets are coming at him. I don't know many adults who could have done that, let alone a 14-year-old boy."

MrsRoe

Just a new SM and mom of a CAP kid trying to figure it out one acronym at a time

GroundHawg

There is a formal request in process at the moment to award them the Florida Cross Medal as well. Both are more than earned.

OldGuy

Quote from: GroundHawg on February 21, 2018, 02:21:23 PM
There is a formal request in process at the moment to award them the Florida Cross Medal as well. Both are more than earned.
Indeed. May they rest in eternal peace.

Johnny Yuma

There were a number of other JROTC cadets who also helped get kids out who survived, hopefully they aren't forgotten when all this settles.
"And Saint Attila raised the Holy Hand Grenade up on high saying, "Oh Lord, Bless us this Holy Hand Grenade, and with it smash our enemies to tiny bits. And the Lord did grin, and the people did feast upon the lambs, and stoats, and orangutans, and breakfast cereals, and lima bean-"

" Skip a bit, brother."

"And then the Lord spake, saying: "First, shalt thou take out the holy pin. Then shalt thou count to three. No more, no less. "Three" shall be the number of the counting, and the number of the counting shall be three. "Four" shalt thou not count, and neither count thou two, execpting that thou then goest on to three. Five is RIGHT OUT. Once the number three, being the third number be reached, then lobbest thou thy Holy Hand Grenade to-wards thy foe, who, being naughty in my sight, shall snuffit. Amen."

Armaments Chapter One, verses nine through twenty-seven:

CAPLTC

Quote from: GroundHawg on February 21, 2018, 02:21:23 PM
There is a formal request in process at the moment to award them the Florida Cross Medal as well. Both are more than earned.

That Cadet was a true to the word hero.
RIP.
"Find the enemy that wants to end this experiment (in American democracy) and kill every one of them until they're so sick of the killing that they leave us and our freedoms intact." -- SECDEF Mattis