Coast Guard Academy Third Class Cadet Bersarian Gorjoladze or “Beso,” as he was known to his friends, wasn’t a quitter.

The nation of Georgia, where he was from, doesn’t allow people with flat feet to join the military. But that didn’t stop Gorjoladze, even though he was twice rejected from military service after being diagnosed with flat feet.

His dream was to enroll in the U.S. Coast Guard Academy, and he wouldn’t stop until he got in.

“His father said that as he would study for the SAT and TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) tests, he would massage his feet,” said his friend Giorgi Janjalia, a 2013 graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. “Beso was sure that this massage would help, and he was so eager to get in ... at last he did it. His potential soldiers were denied the very best opportunity to have a person like him in their lead.”

Gorjoladze and fellow Georgian First Class Cadet Soso Makaridze were killed Saturday in a car accident in New Jersey.

An Academy delegation will accompany the cadets’ bodies today to their homeland and will remain there to represent the Coast Guard during the military funeral, according to the Academy’s Facebook page, which also said services for the young men were held Tuesday afternoon in Hasbrouck Heights, N.J.

Janjalia, who was also a friend of Makaridze, created a GoFundMe page Tuesday to help the cadets’ families in dealing with the devastating loss. He currently lives in Georgia, where he is a lieutenant in the armed forces.

He said he met Monday with Makaridze’s and Gorjoladze’s families, who are from the capital of Tbilisi. Makaridze was an only child and Gorjoladze had a sister.

“To tell you the truth, there was not much talking,” Janjalia said. “They are mourning the loss of their children.”

He said Makaridze was studying mechanical engineering and was the type of person who would help anyone.

“Soso was one of the most talented people I have ever known,” he said. “When he got admitted to the USCGA, he did not know any English, but for all four years there he managed to pull out a 3.8-3.9 GPA. He was the smartest person I have ever known.”

Last week, during Billet Night, when first class cadets find out their first assignments after graduation, it was announced that Makaridze would return to his home country to serve in the Georgian Air Force.

Janjalia said few people from his country have the privilege of attending military academies in the United States, so Georgians in the U.S. military academies would seek each other out stateside. He met Makaridze in 2011 and Gorjoladze in 2013. They would talk once or twice a week, offering each other support and advice.

Janjalia said many leaders in his country had expressed their condolences on hearing news of the deaths.

The crash occurred just after midnight Saturday on Route 31, north of Trenton, N.J. An investigation into the crash has revealed that the Chevy Cobalt driven by First Class Cadet Joel MacArthur was traveling south while a Ford Focus driven by 28-year-old Devon Tomb of Flanders, N.J., was traveling north. The cars collided in the northbound lane, causing Tomb’s car to leave the roadway. MacArthur’s car came to a stop in the middle of the road.

MacArthur, of Oley, Pa., was treated and released from the hospital over the weekend.

Makaridze was pronounced dead at the scene, and Gorjoladze was extricated from the car and flown to a local medical center, where he succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced dead.

Tomb and his passenger, Christine Thompson, 27, also of Flanders, were hospitalized with injuries.

The accident remains under investigation.

i.larraneta@theday.com

Twitter: @larraneta

Remembering cadets killed in car crash

The Coast Guard Foundation has made an offer to use its Fallen Heroes Fund to honor the cadets and support their families. For more information go to coastguardfoundation.org.

Sympathy cards may be mailed to the Commandant of Cadets Office, 29 Mohegan Ave., New London, CT 06320. The cards will then be forwarded to Georgia.

To donate to the GoFundMe page go to: http://www.gofundme.com/izuyhc.