Gerald Herrald, 84, received a very important package Saturday, July 7, his high-school diploma.
"It takes most people four-years to graduate high school. It took me 66 years to do it," he said. "I guess I’m a slow learner."
When Herrald a teenager in West Virginia, he voluntarily dropped out of high school and enlisted in the U.S. Coast Guard. From there, he went to boot camp in Brooklyn, N.Y., and eventually he was stationed in Okinawa, Japan, to fight in World War II.
"I left high school when I was a junior," he said. "I always had that desire to get my high-school diploma."
When the war ended, Herrald returned to New York and received a general education diploma, or GED.
"In my heart, I always wanted that high-school diploma," he said. "It bothered me."
SEVERAL MONTHS AGO, Herrald stumbled upon an article about a World War II veteran who, like himself, dropped out of high school. The veteran received a high-school diploma 60-something years after he dropped out to enlist in the military.
"I got on the phone and called the State of West Virginia," he said.
The West Virginia Department of Military and Veterans Affairs and the Department of Education jointly launched a program six years ago to honor World War II era veterans who left school to join the military and never received a high-school diploma. The program, known as Operation Graduation, awards a state-endorsed high-school diploma to any West Virginia veteran who left high school to enter the military during World War II. "I finally got that diploma, after waiting 66 years," Herrald said, "but it was worth it."
IN SPRING 2008, Herrald and his wife, Aimee Herrald, will return to Kanawha County, W.Va., to participate in Operation Recognition, a graduation ceremony for veterans. "I can have my cap and gown," he said. "I can even have my prom date with me." Aimee Herrald said she is very proud of her husband of five years. "I can’t wait," she said. "He deserves it."
"If they asked me to go again, I would go right now," Herrald said.