The old adage about it never being too late to achieve your dreams may not be so cliché after all.
J.D. Sexton, a 93-year-old veteran, finally received his high school diploma this week, and officially graduated from his alma mater in Highland Home, Alabama.
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As a teenager in high school, Sexton was drafted for World War II in 1943 and never had the opportunity to finish out his high school career. Though he received his GED about forty years ago, the absence of an actual diploma from his high school in Highland Home was bittersweet.
However, since an Alabama state law was passed in 2014 that allows veterans with interrupted high school careers to receive their diplomas, the timing was perfect for a (very) belated graduation ceremony. Sexton's wife arranged to have him walk and graduate with the rest of the Highland Home class of 2015 — and, in true graduate fashion, Sexton sported his blue robes and tassel just like the rest of his peers.
Sexton told WishTV : “It’s a wonderful thing to come up here and be with the people and to receive a diploma for high school education," and that he's "just appreciative of the Lord Jesus for letting me live to be 93."