Parkland students want shooting victim to receive presidential honor
Parkland freshman Peter Wang had dreams of joining the military.
The Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School student was a member of the school’s Junior ROTC. He also he wanted to attend West Point military academy.
His life and those of 16 others were cut short during the Feb. 14 mass shooting at the Parkland school. Peter, who was wearing his gray ROTC shirt that day, was seen holding a classroom door open so that his fellow students could get escape the gun fire.
Surviving students are now voicing their support for Peter, who was 15, to be awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor in the nation.
Stoneman Douglas student Kyle Kashuv shared his support for honoring Peter with the presidential award during the Thanksgiving weekend by launching a White House petition.
“I think people should sign the petition because in a time full of partisan politics, this is something we can all agree on and get behind,’’ said Kashuv, a senior. On the petition, he noted that Peter “died trying to save my classmates.”
“Let's please join together, cross party lines, and ask President of the United States, Donald Trump, to posthumously award Peter the Presidential Medal of Freedom,’’ Kashuv added on the petition. Last March, Kashuv met with both the president and First Lady Melania Trump at the White House.
Fellow Stoneman Douglas student Cameron Kasky, who co-founded the March For Our Lives movement, also voiced his support for Wang.
“Peter Wang deserves the Presidential Medal of Freedom,’’ Kasky wrote on Twitter. “People like Peter Wang are why I am proud to be an American. Peter was dedicated to a cause larger than himself and was murdered protecting others because he knew it was the right thing to do. I wish we could all thank him.”
So far, the petition has 6,200 signatures. It needs a total of 100,000 signatures by Dec. 22 to receive a response from the White House.
Peter’s heroics have been honored in other ways. A week after the school shooting, the Army recognized Wang and two fellow student cadets, Martin Duque and Alaina Petty, who were 14, with the Medal of Heroism for their acts of bravery during the school shooting.
On the day of his funeral, the U.S. Military Academy at West Point also posthumously admitted Peter Wang to the academy. Peter, who enjoyed playing basketball and listening to hip hop music, could have been a member of the class of 2025.