85-year-old WWII vet gets high school diploma

The Associated Press

HAMILTON, Ohio – An 85-year-old Watertown man who grew up in Ohio has finally gotten a high school diploma.

The Pulse-Journal reported 85-year-old Louis Graham left Hamilton High School north of Cincinnati in 1944, when he was 17, without graduating to join the U.S. Navy.

His daughter said Graham served two years in the South Pacific during WWII and took part in the liberation of the Philippines and the invasion of Okinawa. He later joined the U.S. Army and served during the Korean War.

“He’s thrilled and very excited because he never went back to school after coming out of the service,” Juneman told The Pulse-Journal. “He joked, ‘Well maybe now I can get a good job.’ ”

Juneman said she reached out to the Lakota Local School District after reading an article about a 2004 revision to Ohio law that allows school boards the authority to grant a high school diploma to any veteran of World War II or the Korean conflict who either is a resident of the state or was previously enrolled in any high school in the state.

“My dad is kind of low-key and doesn’t look for limelight,” Juneman said. “It’s been neat to get something like that for him. I am thankful Ohio offers this; it’s an awesome way to honor them.”

Earlier this month, Graham was awarded a diploma from Lakota West High School, which now serves the then-rural area where Graham grew up.

Graham now lives in Watertown with his wife of 51 years. They have four children, six grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.