Harry Shood thought he was about to attend a special recognition gathering for veterans at Austintown Fitch High School — until he soon realized he was surrounded by family and relatives, not fellow veterans.
“This is unbelievable to me,” Shood, 79, of Austintown, said.
The Vindicator reports that upon entering the school Friday morning for what he assumed was an honors ceremony for those who had served the nation, it quickly dawned on Shood that he was the one being honored and recognized.
That’s because 61 years after having finished his senior year at Fitch High School, Shood was handed his high school diploma during a special event Friday morning at the school as 20 to 25 family members and relatives watched.
Before completing his senior year in June 1963, Shood was drafted into the U.S. Army and served two years — one each at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, and, from 1966 to 1967, in the Vietnam War. While in Vietnam, he spent much of the time driving a 2.5-ton truck within an 80-mile radius of Saigon to deliver food, ammunition and other vital supplies to outposts within that range.
On one such convoy, his vehicle was attacked, Shood recalled.
Shortly after his time at Fitch High ended, the father of three found work at the former Youngstown Welding & Engineering Co., which was the start of a 36-year welding career, and the job that was held for him during his stint in the Army. He also spent 16 years performing custodial work at the school.
While at Fort Campbell, Shood received his general education diploma. While conducting recent research, his daughter, Heidi Laduca of Rochester, New York, found out about a program called Operation Recognition, then learned her father was eligible to receive his full diploma, she said.
The program, established in 1999, gives qualifying veterans who served in Korea, Vietnam and World War II an opportunity to be awarded their diplomas. Those who received honorable discharges between Sept. 16, 1940, and May 17, 1975, are eligible. Applicants include veterans who earned their GEDs, along with veterans, family members or guardians of those who are deceased or disabled, according to www.veteransmagazine.com.
“I can’t be more proud of my dad,” Laduca said.
Shood’s wife, Joyce Shood, said she found his GED about three months ago, amid various pieces of paperwork.
“I said, ‘Oh, my gosh, I had never seen it before,’” she added.
Joyce Shood recalled having met her future husband at a roller rink during their teen years, then getting married a few weeks before he embarked on a two-week boat trip to Vietnam. She was unable, however, to recall specifically why her husband never received his full diploma.
Handing the longtime welder and Army veteran his diploma during Friday’s gathering was Superintendent Timothy Kelty, who said Shood “has officially graduated” before also handing him a large uppercase “F” for “Falcon.”
With his diploma well in hand, what is Shood’s next move?
“I’ll hang it on the wall so I can see it every day,” he said.
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