Just a few weeks before he could graduate from high school in 1943, Donald Huisenga was drafted into the U.S. Army to fight in World War II. Almost 79 years later, the 98-year-old from San Angelo, Texas, was finally able to get his high school diploma earlier this month. It all started in November, when Huisenga met with Tess Gooding, a social worker at the West Texas VA in San Angelo. During their meeting, Huisenga mentioned that he had never received his high school diploma, something he had regretted for years.
… The same day she met with Huisenga, Gooding called the East Sac County High School in Lake View, Iowa, which had replaced the school that Huisenga attended in the 1940s — Auburn High School. Gooding asked if the school would be able to help Huisenga get his diploma and Principal Kevin Litterer immediately agreed to help.
… Litterer said that right away, school officials started trying to track down a high school diploma from Auburn High School from 1943 so that Jostens, the company that does the school’s graduation materials, could make a replica of a 1943 diploma for Huisenga. Litterer also asked the school board and the superintendent if they would recognize Huisenga as a high school graduate in the state of Iowa. The board voted yes unanimously.