WILLIAMSON VALLEY - John George Schreiner Jr. dropped out of Brush High School in the Colorado plains two or three months before graduating in 1945 to work in the sugar beet fields and a sugar beet factory.
Schreiner, 80, had planned to finish his education in 1946, but military service in World War II overtook his plans. The Army drafted him June 19, 1945, and he served in both Germany and later in Korea during the Korean Conflict.
Sixty-two years later, after raising a family and working in the maintenance field and as the owner of a cabinet shop, Schreiner finally earned his dues. Brush High School honored Schreiner and Bob Wetzbarger May 26 during the graduation ceremony for the 108 seniors in the Class of 2007.
The school participates in the Operation Recognition program of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs by presenting honorary diplomas to World War II, Korean and Vietnam War veterans who dropped out of high school, school counselor Andrea L'Heureux said. Brush and other schools in Colorado began honoring the veterans in 2002.
"It is an honorary program because they never were able to finish their credits," L'Heureux said.
She said school officials read Schreiner's name and gave a synopsis of him during the ceremony. Noting that Schreiner did not attend the event, L'Heureux said that she plans to mail the diploma to him.
Schreiner did not attend the ceremony because he and his wife, Vivian, found out about it on short notice, and they are focusing now on selling their home, Vivian said. Vivian, who has been married to John George for nearly 59 years, graduated from the school in 1947 and was the first member of her family to graduate from high school.
Dropping out of high school was no big thing at the time, and the lack of an education did not hold Schreiner back, Vivian said. He did not bother taking the high school equivalency exam over the years.
"We were busy raising kids," Vivian said, adding three of their four surviving children graduated from college. Their daughter, Deborah Kelly, who lives in San Francisco, honored her father by sending him a cap and gown.
John George Jr., a great-grandfather, offered advice to today's youth: "If possible, finish high school and get a college education. It is one of the best things you can do for your future."
