A WWII veteran was recently honored with his high school diploma over 80 years after dropping out.
Anthony Simeone, the 98-year-old who left school at the age of 16 in 1942 to support his family, was the guest of honor at a graduation ceremony at Cranston High School East on Thursday, Nov. 14, according to local ABC affiliate WLNE-TV.
“It just feels great because I was like an outcast,” the Cranston resident told WLNE-TV. “Everybody around me had a diploma, and I didn’t.”
Speaking with NBC affiliate WJAR, he added, “I am so honored.”
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Simeone told the outlet that he grew up during the Great Depression, which hadn’t been easy.
“I had to do what I had to do,” he said of being taken out of school at 16. “My family needed money.”
Two years later, Simeone was drafted when…
