He waited more than 70 years
NEWBERRY -- It's often said, better late than never. For one U.P. man, that's especially true. He waited more than 70 years, and last night, 99-year old George Harriger finally received his high school diploma.
Harriger is able bodied and sharp-witted and at first glance, you wouldn't expect him to have missed out on much in life. But for him, this was a moment decades in the making--the day he received his high school diploma.
One of nine children, Harriger attended school up until 10th grade when he fell behind due to the constraints of having to work on the family farm for financial reasons.
"My dad asked me, 'Are you going to school?'" says Harriger. "I said no, and that was it. After being so far behind, I got discouraged."
When World War II broke, he went into the service, stationed in the European theatre, an area of heavy fighting. When he returned home, he went straight to a career as a machinist. In order to go into the profession, he got his G.E.D decades ago, but he never received any paperwork or a diploma from his school.
"After all those years, it's made me feel kind of stupid," Harriger laughs.
Operation Recognition, a state program that allows schools to award diplomas to World War II veterans, allowed the Tahquamenon Area Schools to give Harriger the recognition he deserved.
At Monday's school board meeting in front of friends and family, Harriger got his diploma.
"Just too many thoughts to speak," Harriger said as he grasped his diploma.
"I feel it was more of an honor for myself to present the diploma for all the he has done for our country," says Superintendent Alice Walker.
"He probably won't want it on the wall, but I know my wife will take it and frame it and put it up for him," says his nephew, Bill Lison.
Now that he has his diploma, the sky is the limit. Every day he works on new inventions in his home. His next goal is securing a patent for an invention he says could change the modern vehicle.
The school district will display photos of Monday's ceremony in their annual Veterans Day Celebration.
Harriger hopes his story will inspire young students to stay in school.
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