It’s well past time to focus our attention regarding the horrible crime in at Parkland, Florida, on the people who matter.
We’ve all heard, I hope, about Aaron Feis,
the coach who shielded students with his body, and died to save children.
Or the JROTC cadets who died helping students escape,
Alaina Petty, Martin Duque, and Peter Wang.
For this post, I want to focus on Peter Wang.
Witness accounts say that Peter Wang immediately responded to the attack by directing students to doors leaving the danger zone. Wang held a door open and put his body in front of escaping students, even while being shot. Wang locked and shut the door with his last strength.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2018/02/21/west-point-admits-parkland-student-peter-wang-who-died-helping-students-during-shooting/357885002/
http://people.com/crime/florida-school-shooting-peter-wang-funeral/
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/broward/article201156929.html
West Point issued a rare posthumous acceptance to the United States Military Academy to Peter Wang, in addition to honoring all three cadets with medals for heroism :
“Peter Wang lost his life in service to others. The U.S. Military Academy honors Peter Wang with an honorary admission for his bravery and selflessness.
One of West Point’s priorities is to develop leaders of character who are committed to the values of Duty, Honor, and Country. Peter Wang’s actions on February 14th are an example of those very principles and for this reason the academy honors his dream of being a West Point cadet with a 2025 letter of acceptance.
We honor Peter Wang for being a leader of character and we send our condolences to the families of all the victims.”
I know some police officers who would have loved to shake Peter Wang’s hand. For that matter, I know some combat veterans who would like to shake Peter’s hand. There’s fortunately few people who ever have to face the terror of a mass murderer, and fewer still with the courage to run towards the threat. And I have never personally known anyone with the courage to face an insane gunman unarmed, and to save more than a dozen lives at the cost of his own.
Thank God for Peter Wang. I hope his family receives the respect and honor Peter earned, and that after all the media hacks and political hypocrites have left the stage, that the nation will remember the valor shown by a high school freshman, and how much our nation depends on such young people.
