He left high school to serve in WWII. Last month, this 96 year old finally got his diploma.

Saleen Martin USA Today

A Rhode Island man who left high school nearly 80 years ago to serve in World War II has finally received his diploma thanks to loved ones who believed in him.

Arthur Masterson, 96, joined the U.S. Navy in April 1945, during his senior year in the East Greenwich Public Schools system, said his daughter, Elaine Vespia.

He served in the Navy for 11 months, and after that, he was drafted into the U.S. Army for the Korean War.

He never returned to school, but once his time in the military came to an end, he worked as a milkman and later for the United States Postal Service, where he retired, his daughter told USA TODAY on Friday.

Vespia said their family was spending time together around Thanksgiving when her son-in-law, a history buff, found old paperwork that said Masterson had left school to join the military.

“I knew he never graduated,” Vespia said. “I just didn’t know why he didn’t graduate. It was never anything he talked about.”

She suspects a high school education wasn’t as important then as it is now, she said. After learning why he never graduated, her son-in-law had an idea: to reach out to the school division and get him an honorary diploma.

Vespia, who works for the town of East Greenwich, where her father grew up and went to school, emailed Superintendent Brian Ricca, who responded almost immediately.

Ricca is used to fielding requests but often has to turn them down. When he heard about Masterson leaving school for the war, he knew he had to say yes.

“This was an opportunity for me to be able to say yes, and to be able to say yes with a smile,” said Ricca, who has multiple family members who have served in the military.

Ricca talked to the high school principal and guidance program director, who agreed with his decision. They looked for documentation and came across Masterson’s student records.

School division still had student records from the 1940s

About a week before Christmas, Ricca let Vespia know he had the diploma. They were willing to host a ceremony for him, but Masterson isn’t one to like the spotlight, his daughter said. Instead, the family surprised him with his diploma on Christmas Day.

“I graduated!” Masterson exclaimed in a video the family recorded. “After all these years.”

Family members tried to get the 96-year-old to flip his tassel as new graduates do, but he was too busy admiring his diploma.