WWII vet gets high school diploma after 7 decades

An 89-year-old man has finally received his high school diploma after seven decades.

Just a few months before his graduation in 1945, Abner Simon was drafted to fight during the war and missed his opportunity to march with his toga and get his well-deserved diploma at Orangefield Independent School District in Texas, USA.

“That’s one thing I always regretted, not getting my high school diploma,” he told KOGT Radio.

Seventy-one years after he left his high school, Simon returned to his alma mater on Friday, Oct. 7, to claim his transcript. To his surprise, the school listed him as a graduate back in 1945 and he had never been informed, ABC affiliate WFAA reported.

When Orangefield superintendent Dr. Stephen Patterson learned of his presence, he met Simon and signed his diploma. Likewise, he was on cloud nine when the entire student body shook his hand and welcomed him in an impromptu graduation ceremony. In a short speech, Simon told the students to never quit in getting their diplomas. “Don’t stop until you get your diploma and remember Jesus loves you,” he said.

Simon, who is now a Baptist preacher in Virginia, was included in the 2017 graduating roster and is set to speak at the school’s ceremony in May.  Gianna Francesca Catolico/rga