Published Wednesday, Aug. 1, 2001
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Many left school early to serve country
Ottaway News Service
HARRISBURG -- World War II veterans will have a second chance to receive the high school diploma that may have eluded them 60 years ago under provisions of a new state law.
The law, enacted at the end of the spring legislative session, gives school districts authority to award diplomas to veterans who may have missed graduating when they signed up for military service.
The aim is to give further recognition to the veterans of World War II. In fact, the program establishing the diploma program is officially dubbed "Operation Recognition."
Under the law, a school board can establish a program to grant diplomas to honorably discharged veterans who:
The time frames are meant to cover the entire period during which someone might have been in high school and in the military during World War II. The law also provides for posthumous diplomas.
Rep. Peter Zug, R-Lebanon, the law's sponsor, said people should realize that many 15- and 16-year-olds in the World War II era left school and lied about their age in order to join the service, losing out on the chance to get a diploma.