After the death of their 21-year-old son, the parents of West Point cadet Peter Zhu were permitted to retrieve his sperm in hopes that “a small piece of Peter…might live on,” the Army Times reports.
- Zhu, member of the class of 2019 and president of the Cadet Medical Society, was declared brain dead last week after a skiing accident on February 23rd.
- According to the Army Times, his parents Monica and Yongmin Zhu asked a state judge “for permission to retrieve his sperm before his organs were removed.” The judge allowed it and the Westchester Medical Center retrieved the sperm and is storing it until a court hearing on March 21st.
- The Zhu’s said in their filing, according to the Army Times, that when their son passed, “our entire world turned upside down. … We are desperate to have a small piece of Peter that might live on and continue to spread the joy and happiness that Peter brought to all of our lives.”
- Brig. Gen. Steve Gilland, commander of cadets at West Point, said per the Army Times that Peter “was one of the top cadets in the Class of 2019, very well-known and a friend to all. … He embodied the ideals of the Corps of Cadets and its motto of Duty, Honor, Country and all who knew Peter will miss him.”