Jan 20, 2005 By Carol Kekela 3 min read

A local man will be among the thousands participating in today’s presidential inauguration celebration in Washington, D.C. Cadet Jeffrey M. Pelehac of Republic is one of 83 cadets from the U.S. Air Force Academy of Colorado Springs, Colo., marching in the inauguration parade along Pennsylvania Avenue.

The cadet, a member of the Squadron 21, dubbed “The Blackjacks,’ is the son of Mark and Valerie Pelehac of Park Street, Republic, and a 2002 graduate of Brownsville Area High School.

The 4,320 cadets at the Air Force Academy are divided into 36 squadrons, with 120 cadets in each squadron.

The marching cadets had to “earn’ the honor to be part of today’s parade.

“Squadron 21 is an elite group,’ said Valerie Pelehac, the cadet’s mother. “Each cadet is chosen according to excellence in academics, athletics, military and their marching skills during the past year to earn the honor to march in President Bush’s inaugural parade.’

And practice they did for the past year, a feat that paid off for the local cadet.

“They have been putting in overtime with marching and practicing,’ said his mother. “But, he says it is well worth it. They have left a lot of college work behind to attend the event in D.C. to honor their leader, President Bush, but it is a lifetime experience for them.’

The squad left Monday from Colorado aboard an Air Force cargo plane and arrived at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md. “The Naval Academy is hosting the Air Force cadets for the week,’ said Valerie Pelehac. “They will return to Colorado on Friday.’

Pelehac said their son is a member of the Air Force Academy Class of 2007. He spent his first year there in prep school and entered his freshman year his second year there.

“He was sponsored by a military family during his first year while in prep school,’ she said. “The family’s father was with the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD). He was recently promoted to colonel and elevated to a position at the Pentagon in Washington.’

Cadet Pelehac is majoring in civil engineering and will, in the spring, travel to Japan, where he will study the mechanical aspects of civil engineering.

“He said he will ‘drive dozers’ and will learn the building of a city from the ground up,’ she said. Once he graduates in 2007, he will be pinned second lieutenant and will then serve as an officer in the Air Force.

“We are very proud of our son,’ said Pelehac. “He has been able to do and see things he otherwise wouldn’t have been able to do. He will be able to say someday he marched in the 2005 inauguration of President George W. Bush.’