Amidst The Chaos, Junior Cadets Exhibit Bravery Beyond Their Years

The nation continues to mourn the tragic loss of life in the recent school shooting in Parkland, Florida.  Vigils are being held, families are burying their children, and survivors are trying to begin the healing process.

While the liberal media continues their tireless gun control propaganda, it is important for the nation to reflect on the bravery and heroism of students and teachers at Stoneman Douglas High School.

The loss of young life is always difficult to comprehend or accept, but during the chaos and fear of this tragic event, some students exhibited bravery well beyond their years.

ABC News reported:

When two Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School students and Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (JROTC) captains heard gunshots after training with cadets, they used classroom materials to barricade and protect students.

Company commander Capt. Zackary Walls, 17, and Capt. Colton Haab, 17, told ABC News that they ended formations early to head back to their classrooms shortly before a fire alarm went off and the shooting began.

“Around 2:30 I hear the bell ring for the fire alarm and we start heading out,” Walls said. “I heard the first two or three shots, I knew it was gunshots and I look back at all the kids behind me, there’s 60 kids looking at me [asking], ‘What do I do, where do I go’ I just yell, ‘get back in the classroom,'” Walls said.

He went on to explain that students were sprinting through the hallways “trampling over each other” and he began ushering them inside a classroom to shield them from the gunfire. “I start trying to just herd kids in there, get them to where they’re not pushing and trampling each other and just get them into the room safely. I pulled in teachers, I pulled in kids that weren’t in my class,” Walls recalled of the chaotic scene.

Not knowing the scope of the situation, or where the shooter was located at the time, the cadets were told not to go outside, instead heading to the safety of a nearby classroom.  Walls and Haab led as many students and teachers into the room as possible, where they took control of the situation amidst the chaos.

Captain Haab remembered the large curtains in the classroom were made of Kevlar, a material with five times the strength of steel, and rushed to use what he had to protect others.

ABC News continued:

“I brought those curtains out because I knew exactly what they were made of,” Haab said of the thick padded material. “As I’m building them I’m thinking I would never need this other than what we’re going to do and after yesterday I’m glad we had them.”

They also used two tables to barricade the door and sat next to it holding two by four planks of wood “ready to do what we had to do if someone came in the room,” Walls said.

Fortunately, the shooter, Nikolas Cruz, never entered the classroom where Haab, Walls, and others were holed up, but these brave junior officers were ready to stand and defend their fellow students and teachers by whatever means necessary – and in the true military fashion for which they are being trained.

And among the fatalities at Stoneman Douglas were three junior officers from the school’s JROTC program.  Cadet Peter Wang was among those killed while bravely protecting his classmates.  The 15-year-old died in uniform while helping students and staff escape from the gunfire.

Fox News reported:

An online petition to the White House sought to give Wang military honors at his funeral. It had more than 43,700 signatures as of Tuesday.

“His selfless and heroic actions have led to the survival of dozens in the area. Wang died a hero, and deserves to be treated as such, and deserves a full honors military burial,” the petition said.

The Army spokesman said the family has requested Wang be buried in his junior ROTC uniform. “The JROTC Heroism medal will be on his uniform, but a second ‘keepsake’ medal will be given to his family,” Michael Maddox, told Fox News in an email.

Additionally, the U.S. Military Academy West Point is posthumously admitting Wang, who dreamed of attending the prestigious academy, Fox News confirmed. “It was an appropriate way for USMA to honor this brave young man,” the academy said in a statement. “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.”

Fourteen-year-old Alaina Petty was also honored, and her family received her JROTC Heroism Medal during her funeral services on Monday, where more than a thousand were in attendance to pay their respects and acknowledge her bravery.

Thirteen-year-old Martin Duque was also posthumously honored with the Heroism Medal, and his family will receive it during his funeral service later this week.

Cadet Command is also reviewing other stories of heroism and bravery by JROTC cadets for receipt of Heroism Medals.

Fox News continued:

On Tuesday, Florida Gov. Rick Scott said he had directed the Florida National Guard to honor the three students. “@FLGuard members will be attending funeral services and paying respect to these JROTC members, their families and loved ones,” he tweeted.

As the gun control scare tactics of the left continue to spread in media coverage of the aftermath of this tragic event, it is the stories of bravery by those so young that give us hope for the nation’s future.

These selfless students, who so wanted to be members of the U.S. military, served their country in the most honorable way possible and made the ultimate sacrifice in order to save others.

What do you think of the heroism of these young students?  Leave us your thoughts in the comments.