Former Rare Staff
Peter Wang gave his life saving his classmates during a deadly shooting at a Florida high school. Now a petition seeks to honor him for his selfless heroism.
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When a former member of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School’s JROTC program opened fire on the Parkland school last Wednesday, the 15-year-old freshman determined that it was time to help others before himself. Wang was seen holding the door open for students to pass through while wearing his gray JROTC uniform.
Since his death, a petition was launched on WhiteHouse.gov requesting that he receive a full honors military burial.
“Wang died a hero, and deserves to be treated as such, and deserves a full honors military burial,” the petition wrote.
According to The Hill, the petition needs 100,000 signatures by March 18 in order to be guaranteed an official response from the White House. Unfortunately, a number of the petitions that have reached the threshold have not been given attention. The White House has since assured that it will respond to petitions on the new site, which went live earlier in the month.
At the time of this article, the petition has received well over 20,000 signatures.
His friends and family remember what kind of young man he was.
“I forgot my lunch that day and he went to the vending machine with me and he bought me Sprite and candy and snacks. He put others before himself,” recalled Rachel Kuperman, one of his classmates.
“He is so brave. He is the person who is genuinely kind to everyone. He doesn’t care about popularity. He always liked to cheer people up. He is like the big brother everyone wished they had,” said his cousin, Lin Chen, 24.
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Wang leaves behind two younger brothers, ages 5 and 11, and his parents, who own a restaurant in Pompano Beach. He was set to celebrate on the eve of the Chinese New Year with his family the day after he was killed.
Wang also dreamed of going to the military academy at West Point to serve the country.
A JROTC Freshman Sacrificed Himself To Help Classmates Escape During Florida Shooting https://t.co/JtnmfCDIdJ pic.twitter.com/9tq1yUT4IZ
— Task & Purpose (@TaskandPurpose) February 16, 2018
A funeral service for Wang is scheduled for Tuesday, February 20, at the Kraeer Funeral Home and Cremation Center, 655 N. University Drive in Coral Springs. The service begins at 11 a.m.
Those wishing to sign the petition can do so here.
