Nov. 15 (UPI) — A 98-year-old World War II veteran was presented with a diploma from a Rhode Island high school in a special ceremony.
Anthony Simeone, a lifelong Rhode Islander, dropped out of high school at the age of 16 to help support his family, and enlisted in the U.S. Army to fight in World War II at the age of 17.
Simeone, who fought in the Battle of Bulge, earned his GED after arriving back in the United States after the war, but he now has an official high school diploma courtesy of Cranston High School East.
“I never expected to be honored like this,” Simeone told WJAR-TV.
The ceremony was organized by Simeone’s granddaughter, who teaches elementary school in Cranston.