SAN DIEGO -- An 8-year-old boy with a rare, genetic, developmental disease has died a day after being made an honorary Marine.
Jerimiah Gillette, tells KABC-TV and the Marine Corps Times that his son, Wyatt, died Sunday.
Wyatt was honored with a formal ceremony Saturday at Camp Pendleton near San Diego, where his father serves as a drill sergeant. Video and photos of the ceremony show Wyatt dressed in fatigues and seated in his wheelchair as while being presented with a framed certificate and an official Marine Corps pin.
Marine Corps Commandant General Robert Neller agreed to make Wyatt an honorary Marine last week in response to an online petition. The honor is bestowed on just a few people every year.
Wyatt suffered from Aicardi-Goutieres Syndrome, which caused him seizures and kidney failure.
"I mean, honestly, he's the toughest kid I've ever met," Jerimiah Gillette told 10News this week. "He's the toughest person I've ever met."
