Community Corner
Midshipman Eulogized as Humble, Loving and Caring
U.S. Naval Academy student Justin Zemser died in Tuesday's Amtrak train crash; his funeral was Friday in New York.
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A light. A humble but talented student. A selfless inspiration.
Those are some of the ways students and teachers at Justim Zemser’s former high school in New York described him Friday at a funeral service.
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Zemser, 20, was traveling home Tuesday to Rockaway Beach, NY, at the end of his sophomore year at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis. He was one of eight people killed in the horrific Amtrak train crash in Philadelphia that injured more than 200 passengers.
About 150 Naval Academy classmates joined Zemser’s family members and students from his alma mater – Beach Channel High School – for his funeral on Long Island, according to an Associated Press story.
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“My entire school community is devastated, the community of Rockaway is devastated, the Naval Academy is devastated,” said Andrew Wettstein, a biology teacher at Beach Channel High School.
Zemser’s commanding officer at the Naval Academy, Marine Capt. Brandy Soublet, said the one word that best described Zemser was “humble.”
Aurora Perez, 17, who was a freshman when Zemser was a senior at Beach Channel High School, said students, as well as teachers at the school, looked up to him.
“He was loving, caring,” she said. “He put everyone before himself. … He just cared about other people instead of his own life. If he could save anyone on that train, I know he would have.”
Classmates and football team members at the academy earlier this week recalled Zemser as a smart student with goals to one day be an elite Navy Seal, a selfless man with energy who urged others to “enjoy this incredible life.”
The midshipman’s football teammates gathered on the field to commemorate their friend, and later wrote a message to his parents, who lost their only child.
“Your son was the greatest man we’ve ever known, with his contagious smile, dedication, and passion for life that changed all of us,” the midshipmen wrote on Facebook. “You and Mr. “Z” may have lost a son, but we hope that you’ll be willing to adopt 64 more... We are always with you and no matter the circumstances, you will always be family...”
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