- Richard Remp, 98, dropped out of high school at age 17 to serve in World War II.
- On Friday he received his high school diploma in palliative care after eight decades.
A dying Navy veteran finally received his high school diploma while receiving hospice care after abandoning his studies to fight in World War II more than eight decades ago.
Richard Remp, a 98-year-old Navy veteran receiving hospice care, left school at age 17 to serve in World War II, before continuing his service in Korea and Vietnam.
But on Friday he was finally given the high school diploma he had longed for all these years and never received.
Remp told San Antonio’s local NBC affiliate NEWS4SA: ‘On behalf of myself and the Marine Corps, I thank you very much for what you have done for me. I will never forget this. How can I do it with all the good people around me? I’m really happy’.
A dying Navy veteran finally received his high school diploma while receiving hospice care after abandoning his studies to fight in World War II nearly eight decades ago.
Richard Remp, a 98-year-old Navy veteran in hospice care, dropped out of high school at age 17 to serve in World War II.
Affectionately known as ‘Gunny’ for his role as a gunnery sergeant in Vietnam, Remp found himself in hospice care at home after doctors diagnosed him with stage four cancer following a recent fall.
Determined to fulfill Remp’s lifelong wish, his family and friends at nearby American Legion Post 247 came up with a plan to secure his high school diploma.
They contacted Remp’s original school district in Sharon, Pennsylvania, just over an hour north of Pittsburgh, but the school couldn’t finish the job in time.
On Friday he was personally presented with the high school diploma that he had longed for all these years and never received.
He put his education on hold 81 years ago to fight the Nazis and then continued his service in Korea and Vietnam.
But after hearing his story, Superintendent Justi Glaros of a neighboring district had the diploma printed.
He made the 4.5-hour trip to personally deliver the diploma to Remp’s bedside.