Boy with rare disease dies after being named an Honorary Marine

(Image credit: Lance Cpl. Angelica Annastas/U.S. Marine Corps via AP)

last updated 10 August 2016

Every year, the U.S. Marine Corps makes a handful of people Honorary Marines, and on Saturday, the day before he died, the title was bestowed upon 8-year-old Wyatt Gillette.

Wyatt had a rare disease called Aicardi-Goutieres Syndrome Type 1 (Trex 1 mutation), an inflammatory disorder that caused seizures and complete kidney failure. His father, Jeremiah Gillette, is a Marine drill instructor from Orange County, California, and wanted to see his son become an Honorary Marine, ABC 7 reports. Word spread and a petition was started, and on Saturday, during a ceremony at Camp Pendleton, the request was granted and Wyatt became the 96th person to receive the honor since 1992. On Thursday, Marine Corps Commandant Gen. Robert Neiler called Wyatt "the epitome of Semper Fidelis," and on Saturday tweeted that it was "one of the easiest decisions" to make him an Honorary Marine.

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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.

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