LINDEN, N.J. (AP) — A D-Day veteran who missed his high school graduation was among the graduates at a northern New Jersey high school.
Herman Zeitchik didn’t walk with his Linden High School class in 1944 because he had enlisted in the Army.
The high school’s marching band was performing in the National Memorial Day Parade in Washington last month when the 90-year-old Silver Spring, Maryland, resident told some parents about growing up in New Jersey and playing clarinet in the band.
A band official returned to New Jersey and called Zeitchik after looking him up in the old yearbooks. Zeitchik explained that his parents had received his diploma because he was already in the Army during his senior year
The school invited him back to receive an honorary diploma during Friday’s ceremony.
Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
